Abstract
Background:
The COVID-19 crisis has been a fertile ground for misinformation due to several factors such as the uncertainty typical of crises, the hasty handling of information, the virality provided by social networks and the scarce resources that average citizens have to discern between what is true and what is false in the health information they consume.
Objective:
In this context, this article aims to characterise the COVID-19 hoaxes registered on the Mexican fact-checking platforms Animal Político and Verificado during 2020 and 2021.
Method and design:
The method used in this study was predominantly quantitative and took the form of content analysis. This method was applied to hoaxes registered on these two fact-checking sites.
Results:
The primary type of hoax encountered was one of deception, followed by decontextualisation, exaggeration and joking. Disinformation circulates mainly in social media, in various formats that make the false seem more credible. We found that public figures and the media contribute to the spread of health hoaxes. However, they do not contain hate speech as has been the case in other contexts informed by xenophobic and racist agenda.
Conclusion:
The disinformation on COVID-19 registered on the Mexican fact-checking platforms Animal Político and Verificado during 2020 and 2021 is characterised by a marked concern to question the role of vaccination in confronting and controlling the pandemic. In this way, denialist, conspiracy and anti-vaccine ideas have come to permeate public debate.
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