The global spread of misinformation on spiders

Stefano Mammola; Jagoba Malumbres-Olarte; Valeria Arabesky; Diego Alejandro Barrales-Alcalá; Aimee Lynn Barrion-Dupo; Marco Antonio Benamú; Tharina L. Bird; Maria Bogomolova; Pedro Cardoso; Maria Chatzaki; Ren Chung Cheng; Tien Ai Chu; Leticia M. Classen-Rodríguez; Iva Čupić; Naufal Urfi Dhiya'ulhaq; André Philippe Drapeau Picard; Hisham K. El-Hennawy; Mert Elverici; Caroline S. Fukushima; Zeana Ganem; Efrat Gavish-Regev; Naledi T. Gonnye; Axel Hacala; Charles R. Haddad; Thomas Hesselberg; Tammy Ai Tian Ho; Thanakorn Into; Marco Isaia; Dharmaraj Jayaraman; Nanguei Karuaera; Rajashree Khalap; Kiran Khalap; Dongyoung Kim; Tuuli Korhonen; Simona Kralj-Fišer; Heidi Land; Shou Wang Lin; Sarah Loboda; Elizabeth Lowe; Yael Lubin; Alejandro Martínez; Zingisile Mbo; Marija Miličić; Grace Mwende Kioko; Veronica Nanni; Yusoff Norma-Rashid; Daniel Nwankwo; Christina J. Painting; Aleck Pang; Paolo Pantini; Martina Pavlek; Richard Pearce; Booppa Petcharad; Julien Pétillon; Onjaherizo Christian Raberahona; Philip Russo; Joni A. Saarinen; Laura Segura-Hernández; Lenka Sentenská; Gabriele Uhl; Leilani Walker; Charles M. Warui; Konrad Wiśniewski; Alireza Zamani; Angela Chuang; Catherine Scott

doi:10.1016/j.cub.2022.07.026

The global spread of misinformation on spiders

Stefano Mammola^*, Jagoba Malumbres-Olarte, Valeria Arabesky, Diego Alejandro Barrales-Alcalá, Aimee Lynn Barrion-Dupo, Marco Antonio Benamú, Tharina L. Bird, Maria Bogomolova, Pedro Cardoso, Maria Chatzaki, Ren Chung Cheng, Tien Ai Chu, Leticia M. Classen-Rodríguez, Iva Čupić, Naufal Urfi Dhiya'ulhaq, André Philippe Drapeau Picard, Hisham K. El-Hennawy, Mert Elverici, Caroline S. Fukushima, Zeana GanemEfrat Gavish-Regev, Naledi T. Gonnye, Axel Hacala, Charles R. Haddad, Thomas Hesselberg, Tammy Ai Tian Ho, Thanakorn Into, Marco Isaia, Dharmaraj Jayaraman, Nanguei Karuaera, Rajashree Khalap, Kiran Khalap, Dongyoung Kim, Tuuli Korhonen, Simona Kralj-Fišer, Heidi Land, Shou Wang Lin, Sarah Loboda, Elizabeth Lowe, Yael Lubin, Alejandro Martínez, Zingisile Mbo, Marija Miličić, Grace Mwende Kioko, Veronica Nanni, Yusoff Norma-Rashid, Daniel Nwankwo, Christina J. Painting, Aleck Pang, Paolo Pantini, Martina Pavlek, Richard Pearce, Booppa Petcharad, Julien Pétillon, Onjaherizo Christian Raberahona, Philip Russo, Joni A. Saarinen, Laura Segura-Hernández, Lenka Sentenská, Gabriele Uhl, Leilani Walker, Charles M. Warui, Konrad Wiśniewski, Alireza Zamani, Angela Chuang, Catherine Scott

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Letter › peer-review

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Abstract

In the internet era, the digital architecture that keeps us connected and informed may also amplify the spread of misinformation. This problem is gaining global attention, as evidence accumulates that misinformation may interfere with democratic processes and undermine collective responses to environmental and health crises^1,2. In an increasingly polluted information ecosystem, understanding the factors underlying the generation and spread of misinformation is becoming a pressing scientific and societal challenge³. Here, we studied the global spread of (mis-)information on spiders using a high-resolution global database of online newspaper articles on spider–human interactions, covering stories of spider–human encounters and biting events published from 2010–2020⁴. We found that 47% of articles contained errors and 43% were sensationalist. Moreover, we show that the flow of spider-related news occurs within a highly interconnected global network and provide evidence that sensationalism is a key factor underlying the spread of misinformation.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	R871-R873
Number of pages	3
Journal	Current Biology
Volume	32
Issue number	16
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2022.07.026
Publication status	Published - 22 Aug 2022

Bibliographical note

Copyright the Author(s) 2022. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.

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10.1016/j.cub.2022.07.026

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Mammola, S., Malumbres-Olarte, J., Arabesky, V., Barrales-Alcalá, D. A., Barrion-Dupo, A. L., Benamú, M. A., Bird, T. L., Bogomolova, M., Cardoso, P., Chatzaki, M., Cheng, R. C., Chu, T. A., Classen-Rodríguez, L. M., Čupić, I., Dhiya'ulhaq, N. U., Drapeau Picard, A. P., El-Hennawy, H. K., Elverici, M., Fukushima, C. S., ... Scott, C. (2022). The global spread of misinformation on spiders. Current Biology, 32(16), R871-R873. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2022.07.026

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title = "The global spread of misinformation on spiders",

abstract = "In the internet era, the digital architecture that keeps us connected and informed may also amplify the spread of misinformation. This problem is gaining global attention, as evidence accumulates that misinformation may interfere with democratic processes and undermine collective responses to environmental and health crises1,2. In an increasingly polluted information ecosystem, understanding the factors underlying the generation and spread of misinformation is becoming a pressing scientific and societal challenge3. Here, we studied the global spread of (mis-)information on spiders using a high-resolution global database of online newspaper articles on spider–human interactions, covering stories of spider–human encounters and biting events published from 2010–20204. We found that 47% of articles contained errors and 43% were sensationalist. Moreover, we show that the flow of spider-related news occurs within a highly interconnected global network and provide evidence that sensationalism is a key factor underlying the spread of misinformation.",

author = "Stefano Mammola and Jagoba Malumbres-Olarte and Valeria Arabesky and Barrales-Alcal{\'a}, {Diego Alejandro} and Barrion-Dupo, {Aimee Lynn} and Benam{\'u}, {Marco Antonio} and Bird, {Tharina L.} and Maria Bogomolova and Pedro Cardoso and Maria Chatzaki and Cheng, {Ren Chung} and Chu, {Tien Ai} and Classen-Rodr{\'i}guez, {Leticia M.} and Iva {\v C}upi{\'c} and Dhiya'ulhaq, {Naufal Urfi} and {Drapeau Picard}, {Andr{\'e} Philippe} and El-Hennawy, {Hisham K.} and Mert Elverici and Fukushima, {Caroline S.} and Zeana Ganem and Efrat Gavish-Regev and Gonnye, {Naledi T.} and Axel Hacala and Haddad, {Charles R.} and Thomas Hesselberg and {Tian Ho}, {Tammy Ai} and Thanakorn Into and Marco Isaia and Dharmaraj Jayaraman and Nanguei Karuaera and Rajashree Khalap and Kiran Khalap and Dongyoung Kim and Tuuli Korhonen and Simona Kralj-Fi{\v s}er and Heidi Land and Lin, {Shou Wang} and Sarah Loboda and Elizabeth Lowe and Yael Lubin and Alejandro Mart{\'i}nez and Zingisile Mbo and Marija Mili{\v c}i{\'c} and Kioko, {Grace Mwende} and Veronica Nanni and Yusoff Norma-Rashid and Daniel Nwankwo and Painting, {Christina J.} and Aleck Pang and Paolo Pantini and Martina Pavlek and Richard Pearce and Booppa Petcharad and Julien P{\'e}tillon and Raberahona, {Onjaherizo Christian} and Philip Russo and Saarinen, {Joni A.} and Laura Segura-Hern{\'a}ndez and Lenka Sentensk{\'a} and Gabriele Uhl and Leilani Walker and Warui, {Charles M.} and Konrad Wi{\'s}niewski and Alireza Zamani and Angela Chuang and Catherine Scott",

note = "Copyright the Author(s) 2022. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher. ",

year = "2022",

month = aug,

day = "22",

doi = "10.1016/j.cub.2022.07.026",

language = "English",

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pages = "R871--R873",

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issn = "0960-9822",

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Mammola, S, Malumbres-Olarte, J, Arabesky, V, Barrales-Alcalá, DA, Barrion-Dupo, AL, Benamú, MA, Bird, TL, Bogomolova, M, Cardoso, P, Chatzaki, M, Cheng, RC, Chu, TA, Classen-Rodríguez, LM, Čupić, I, Dhiya'ulhaq, NU, Drapeau Picard, AP, El-Hennawy, HK, Elverici, M, Fukushima, CS, Ganem, Z, Gavish-Regev, E, Gonnye, NT, Hacala, A, Haddad, CR, Hesselberg, T, Tian Ho, TA, Into, T, Isaia, M, Jayaraman, D, Karuaera, N, Khalap, R, Khalap, K, Kim, D, Korhonen, T, Kralj-Fišer, S, Land, H, Lin, SW, Loboda, S, Lowe, E, Lubin, Y, Martínez, A, Mbo, Z, Miličić, M, Kioko, GM, Nanni, V, Norma-Rashid, Y, Nwankwo, D, Painting, CJ, Pang, A, Pantini, P, Pavlek, M, Pearce, R, Petcharad, B, Pétillon, J, Raberahona, OC, Russo, P, Saarinen, JA, Segura-Hernández, L, Sentenská, L, Uhl, G, Walker, L, Warui, CM, Wiśniewski, K, Zamani, A, Chuang, A & Scott, C 2022, 'The global spread of misinformation on spiders', Current Biology, vol. 32, no. 16, pp. R871-R873. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2022.07.026

TY - JOUR

T1 - The global spread of misinformation on spiders

AU - Mammola, Stefano

AU - Malumbres-Olarte, Jagoba

AU - Arabesky, Valeria

AU - Barrales-Alcalá, Diego Alejandro

AU - Barrion-Dupo, Aimee Lynn

AU - Benamú, Marco Antonio

AU - Bird, Tharina L.

AU - Bogomolova, Maria

AU - Cardoso, Pedro

AU - Chatzaki, Maria

AU - Cheng, Ren Chung

AU - Chu, Tien Ai

AU - Classen-Rodríguez, Leticia M.

AU - Čupić, Iva

AU - Dhiya'ulhaq, Naufal Urfi

AU - Drapeau Picard, André Philippe

AU - El-Hennawy, Hisham K.

AU - Elverici, Mert

AU - Fukushima, Caroline S.

AU - Ganem, Zeana

AU - Gavish-Regev, Efrat

AU - Gonnye, Naledi T.

AU - Hacala, Axel

AU - Haddad, Charles R.

AU - Hesselberg, Thomas

AU - Tian Ho, Tammy Ai

AU - Into, Thanakorn

AU - Isaia, Marco

AU - Jayaraman, Dharmaraj

AU - Karuaera, Nanguei

AU - Khalap, Rajashree

AU - Khalap, Kiran

AU - Kim, Dongyoung

AU - Korhonen, Tuuli

AU - Kralj-Fišer, Simona

AU - Land, Heidi

AU - Lin, Shou Wang

AU - Loboda, Sarah

AU - Lowe, Elizabeth

AU - Lubin, Yael

AU - Martínez, Alejandro

AU - Mbo, Zingisile

AU - Miličić, Marija

AU - Kioko, Grace Mwende

AU - Nanni, Veronica

AU - Norma-Rashid, Yusoff

AU - Nwankwo, Daniel

AU - Painting, Christina J.

AU - Pang, Aleck

AU - Pantini, Paolo

AU - Pavlek, Martina

AU - Pearce, Richard

AU - Petcharad, Booppa

AU - Pétillon, Julien

AU - Raberahona, Onjaherizo Christian

AU - Russo, Philip

AU - Saarinen, Joni A.

AU - Segura-Hernández, Laura

AU - Sentenská, Lenka

AU - Uhl, Gabriele

AU - Walker, Leilani

AU - Warui, Charles M.

AU - Wiśniewski, Konrad

AU - Zamani, Alireza

AU - Chuang, Angela

AU - Scott, Catherine

N1 - Copyright the Author(s) 2022. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.

PY - 2022/8/22

Y1 - 2022/8/22

N2 - In the internet era, the digital architecture that keeps us connected and informed may also amplify the spread of misinformation. This problem is gaining global attention, as evidence accumulates that misinformation may interfere with democratic processes and undermine collective responses to environmental and health crises1,2. In an increasingly polluted information ecosystem, understanding the factors underlying the generation and spread of misinformation is becoming a pressing scientific and societal challenge3. Here, we studied the global spread of (mis-)information on spiders using a high-resolution global database of online newspaper articles on spider–human interactions, covering stories of spider–human encounters and biting events published from 2010–20204. We found that 47% of articles contained errors and 43% were sensationalist. Moreover, we show that the flow of spider-related news occurs within a highly interconnected global network and provide evidence that sensationalism is a key factor underlying the spread of misinformation.

AB - In the internet era, the digital architecture that keeps us connected and informed may also amplify the spread of misinformation. This problem is gaining global attention, as evidence accumulates that misinformation may interfere with democratic processes and undermine collective responses to environmental and health crises1,2. In an increasingly polluted information ecosystem, understanding the factors underlying the generation and spread of misinformation is becoming a pressing scientific and societal challenge3. Here, we studied the global spread of (mis-)information on spiders using a high-resolution global database of online newspaper articles on spider–human interactions, covering stories of spider–human encounters and biting events published from 2010–20204. We found that 47% of articles contained errors and 43% were sensationalist. Moreover, we show that the flow of spider-related news occurs within a highly interconnected global network and provide evidence that sensationalism is a key factor underlying the spread of misinformation.

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U2 - 10.1016/j.cub.2022.07.026

DO - 10.1016/j.cub.2022.07.026

M3 - Letter

C2 - 35998593

AN - SCOPUS:85136139565

SN - 0960-9822

VL - 32

SP - R871-R873

JO - Current Biology

JF - Current Biology

IS - 16

ER -

The global spread of misinformation on spiders

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