“Everything is believable”. Credibility of disinformation produced by using AI and the perception of Spanish communication students

David García-Marín; Rebeca Suárez Álvarez; Antonio García Jiménez

“Everything is believable”. Credibility of disinformation produced by using AI and the perception of Spanish communication students

García-Marín, David ^[1] ; Suárez-Álvarez, Rebeca ^[1] ; García-Jiménez, Antonio ^[1]
1. [1] Universidad Rey Juan Carlos
  
  Universidad Rey Juan Carlos
  
  Madrid, España
Localización: Revista de comunicación, ISSN 1684-0933, ISSN-e 2227-1465, Vol. 24, Nº. 2, 2025, págs. 183-227
Idioma: inglés
DOI: 10.26441/RC24.2-2025-3872
Títulos paralelos:
- “Todo parece veraz”. Credibilidad de la desinformación producida usando IA desde la perspectiva de los estudiantes de comunicación en España
Enlaces
- Texto completo (pdf)
Resumen
- español
  Propósito. El periodismo está viviendo una revolución tecnológica que está modificando sus procesos de producción de noticias y flujos de trabajo. Estas transformaciones se producen en paralelo al cambio de paradigma de los modos de consumo de noticias y al crecimiento de la aplicación de la Inteligencia Artificial (IA). Enmarcada en los estudios sobre la credibilidad percibida de las noticias y en la Teoría de la Disonancia Cognitiva, esta investigación cuestiona si los estudiantes universitarios del área de comunicación, futuros profesionales en este campo son capaces de distinguir las noticias falsas creadas con IA y las verdaderas elaboradas por humanos. Metodología. Se realizó un estudio mediante cuestionario para medir el grado de veracidad, precisión, claridad y, por tanto, credibilidad, de un total de seis noticias tanto falsas creadas utilizando ChatGPT como verdaderas que abordan temáticas de salud, migración y medioambiente. Resultados y conclusiones. Se observó que los participantes no diferencian las noticias falsas creadas con IA de las verdaderas elaboradas por humanos, en términos de veracidad, precisión, claridad y credibilidad. Asimismo, las noticias falsas fueron percibidas como más veraces, precisas y claras, incluso superando a las verdaderas en las tres variables. Aporte original. Se evidencia, por tanto, que el volumen y velocidad en el procesamiento de datos propio de la IA en combinación con la supervisión y conocimiento humanos multiplican las posibilidades de producir contenidos desinformativos con un potencial manipulador desconocidos hasta el momento.
- English
  news production processes and workflows. This is occurring simultaneously with a paradigm shift in news consumption patterns, in addition to the growing use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) within this environment. Based on studies regarding the perceived credibility of news and Cognitive Dissonance Theory, this research questions whether university students in the field of communication, who will be the future professionals in this sector, are able to distinguish between fake news created by AI from real news produced by humans. Methodology. A survey was carried out to measure the degree of truthfulness, accuracy, clarity and, consequently, the credibility of a total of six news stories created using ChatGPT as well as real news stories addressing health, migration and environment issues. Results and conclusions. It was found that the participants were not able to distinguish between fake news created using AI from true news made by humans in terms of truthfulness, accuracy, clarity, and credibility. Likewise, fake news was perceived as more truthful, accurate, and clear, even surpassing real news on all three variables. Original contribution. Thus, it is evident that the volume and speed of AI data processing, combined with human supervision and knowledge, can increase the chances of producing disinformation with a potential for manipulation unheard of until now.
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