WHEN FACT-CHECKS GO VIRAL: A CROSS-NATIONAL ANALYSIS OF THE DISSEMINATION OF EUROPEAN FACT-CHECKERS’ CONTENT ON TWITTER

Abstract

To be effective in countering misinformation, it is paramount for fact-checkers to reach a wide audience. This study investigates the dynamics leading to broader engagement with fact-checking content published on social networks. It analyzes the dissemination activity on Twitter (later rebranded as X) of a cross-national sample of European fact checkers over a span of four months. We employ Network Analysis and Natural Language Processing techniques (sentiment analysis and keyword extraction), to address four questions: 1. Are there specific tweets that attract the majority of engagement?; 2. Do these tweets draw engagement from audiences beyond their usual reach?; 3. What is the prevailing sentiment expressed in these tweets – positive, neutral, or negative?; 4. What topics are covered in these highly engaging tweets? Results show that certain tweets receive significantly higher engagement, extending beyond typical audience. Furthermore, our findings suggest that popular tweet topics are countryspecific, and negative tweets attract more interaction in most considered countries.