Racial Disinformation, Populism and Associated Stereotypes across Three European Countries during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Within the realm of disinformation, across all media platforms, a crucial subject of interest seems to be immigration, which produces the so-called ‘racial hoaxes’. Racial hoaxes are closely linked to the spread of populist ideologies and ethnic stereotypes, both of which are psychosocial processes...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Francesca D’Errico, Paolo Giovanni Cicirelli, Angelica Lops, Rosa Scardigno
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-09-01
Series:Social Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/13/9/465
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850259312603037696
author Francesca D’Errico
Paolo Giovanni Cicirelli
Angelica Lops
Rosa Scardigno
author_facet Francesca D’Errico
Paolo Giovanni Cicirelli
Angelica Lops
Rosa Scardigno
author_sort Francesca D’Errico
collection DOAJ
description Within the realm of disinformation, across all media platforms, a crucial subject of interest seems to be immigration, which produces the so-called ‘racial hoaxes’. Racial hoaxes are closely linked to the spread of populist ideologies and ethnic stereotypes, both of which are psychosocial processes that, during health crises, could acquire particular features based on cultural differences. This study analysed the main contents of 239 racial hoaxes in relation to three main features: the country of origin (i.e., France, Italy and Spain), the stereotypical contents, and the COVID-19 pandemic period. The results highlight some similarities across these three countries but also peculiarities in terms of topics and stereotypical contents that were magnified during the pandemic period. The peculiarities of emerging racial hoaxes are discussed in relation to the stereotype content model and the literature on populist discourses, providing valuable information for use in psycho-educational intervention, policymaking and social integration efforts.
format Article
id doaj-art-5975ee18243748c8a13bec5581a22052
institution OA Journals
issn 2076-0760
language English
publishDate 2024-09-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Social Sciences
spelling doaj-art-5975ee18243748c8a13bec5581a220522025-08-20T01:55:52ZengMDPI AGSocial Sciences2076-07602024-09-0113946510.3390/socsci13090465Racial Disinformation, Populism and Associated Stereotypes across Three European Countries during the COVID-19 PandemicFrancesca D’Errico0Paolo Giovanni Cicirelli1Angelica Lops2Rosa Scardigno3Department of Educational Sciences, Psychology, Communication, University of Bari “A. Moro”, Crisanzio Street 42, 70121 Bari, ItalyDepartment of Educational Sciences, Psychology, Communication, University of Bari “A. Moro”, Crisanzio Street 42, 70121 Bari, ItalyDepartment of Educational Sciences, Psychology, Communication, University of Bari “A. Moro”, Crisanzio Street 42, 70121 Bari, ItalyDepartment of Educational Sciences, Psychology, Communication, University of Bari “A. Moro”, Crisanzio Street 42, 70121 Bari, ItalyWithin the realm of disinformation, across all media platforms, a crucial subject of interest seems to be immigration, which produces the so-called ‘racial hoaxes’. Racial hoaxes are closely linked to the spread of populist ideologies and ethnic stereotypes, both of which are psychosocial processes that, during health crises, could acquire particular features based on cultural differences. This study analysed the main contents of 239 racial hoaxes in relation to three main features: the country of origin (i.e., France, Italy and Spain), the stereotypical contents, and the COVID-19 pandemic period. The results highlight some similarities across these three countries but also peculiarities in terms of topics and stereotypical contents that were magnified during the pandemic period. The peculiarities of emerging racial hoaxes are discussed in relation to the stereotype content model and the literature on populist discourses, providing valuable information for use in psycho-educational intervention, policymaking and social integration efforts.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/13/9/465fake newsracial hoaxesstereotypespopulismCOVID-19
spellingShingle Francesca D’Errico
Paolo Giovanni Cicirelli
Angelica Lops
Rosa Scardigno
Racial Disinformation, Populism and Associated Stereotypes across Three European Countries during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Social Sciences
fake news
racial hoaxes
stereotypes
populism
COVID-19
title Racial Disinformation, Populism and Associated Stereotypes across Three European Countries during the COVID-19 Pandemic
title_full Racial Disinformation, Populism and Associated Stereotypes across Three European Countries during the COVID-19 Pandemic
title_fullStr Racial Disinformation, Populism and Associated Stereotypes across Three European Countries during the COVID-19 Pandemic
title_full_unstemmed Racial Disinformation, Populism and Associated Stereotypes across Three European Countries during the COVID-19 Pandemic
title_short Racial Disinformation, Populism and Associated Stereotypes across Three European Countries during the COVID-19 Pandemic
title_sort racial disinformation populism and associated stereotypes across three european countries during the covid 19 pandemic
topic fake news
racial hoaxes
stereotypes
populism
COVID-19
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/13/9/465
work_keys_str_mv AT francescaderrico racialdisinformationpopulismandassociatedstereotypesacrossthreeeuropeancountriesduringthecovid19pandemic
AT paologiovannicicirelli racialdisinformationpopulismandassociatedstereotypesacrossthreeeuropeancountriesduringthecovid19pandemic
AT angelicalops racialdisinformationpopulismandassociatedstereotypesacrossthreeeuropeancountriesduringthecovid19pandemic
AT rosascardigno racialdisinformationpopulismandassociatedstereotypesacrossthreeeuropeancountriesduringthecovid19pandemic