Global Journal of Human-Social Science, A: Arts and Humanities, Volume 22 Issue 4

used social network to access news (60%) is Facebook, followed by YouTube with 37% (Gutiérrez-Renteria, 2021). The exchange of news on social networks is one of the most frequent practices in consuming information online (Journalism & OberCom, 2021). Although Facebook and YouTube continue to be the most used social networks, both have registered a loss of users and news consumption compared to the year 2020 in both Portugal and Mexico (Gutiérrez-Renteria, 2021)(Journalism & OberCom, 2021). Finally, it is worth noting that the growing concern of journalism companies and others that manage social networks is the increasing number of false news circulating in these media. From the pandemic's start to April 2021, Facebook and Instagram have removed more than 20 million pieces of content for violating their counterinformation policies and damages related to COVID-19 (LUSA, 2021; AVAAZ, 2021). The different studies analyzed, within the scope of this study, allow us to conclude that social networks have not, up to now, take sufficient measures to verify the veracity of the information, and there is still a long way to go in this field. III. M ethod The study presented is exploratory-descriptive, framed in a research design of a quantitative approach methodology employing questionnaires to gather information. The questionnaire consisted of 16 items and was designed ad hoc to collect data about how Internet and social network users perceive the information as true. In order to carry out the effective execution of this study, the following methodological phases have been developed: − Exploratory and design phase : preparation of the instrument following the objectives. − Validation and administration phase: For the questionnaire's validation, it was taken into consideration if the questionnaire adequately measures the variable to be measured from the perspective of the subjects. The instrument was evaluated considering the opinion of 3 doctorate- level experts. Subsequently, a pilot test of the questionnaire was carried out with ten students and five teachers from the Polytechnic Institute of Guarda-Portugal. − Results analysis and conclusions phase: the data obtained in the investigation were analyzed using the SPSS 23 program with which descriptive statistics ( e.g., frequencies, percentages, measures of central tendency and dispersion) and inferential statistics (test of Chi-Square of independence between two variables) were calculated. Data privacy and confidentiality were guaranteed at all times. General information was requested regarding the demographic profile of the participants and their level of education and information according to the study's objective. Google Forms was used to prepare the questionnaire. IV. R esults The data collection method regarding the information that supports this study was based on quantitative research. Data was collected by applying a questionnaire to Internet users in Portugal and Mexico through the Facebook social employing two accounts: professors from the Polytechnic Institute of Guarda, Portugal, and professors from the Autonomous University of Chiapas, Mexico, between May to June. Although the questionnaire was addressed only to the population of Internet users and, in particular, employing the Facebook social network, an attempt was made to incorporate three levels of representativeness of the population (taking into consideration age, gender and schooling). The main objective of the questionnaire was to understand: 1. How news consumption is carried out and spread in Portugal and Mexico; 2. What trust does the user place in the content that circulates on social networks, and, 3. What opinion do individuals have about the disinformation that exists in the context of Covid-19. a) Sample The sample used in this research study comprises 444 participants, 303 of whom are from the district of Guarda, Portugal, and 141 from the state of Chiapas, Mexico, corresponding to 60.81% (270) female respondents. Regarding the distribution of ages, the groups that have provided the most responses are the groups between the age range of 45-49 years old, followed by those between 40-44 years old, and, subsequently, ages between 50 and 54 years old and 20-24 years. These groups represent 59.37% of the sample (See Figure 1). © 2022 Global Journals Volume XXII Issue IV Version I 21 ( ) Global Journal of Human Social Science - Year 2022 A 3 Portugal and Mexico: An Analysis of Fake News in Times of Covid-19 Pandemic