A produção científica sobre desinformação na Ciência da Informação: um estudo a partir da Biblioteca Digital Brasileira de Teses e Dissertações

Abstract

Disinformation is a topic that has gained notoriety and relevance in scientific research in the most varied areas of knowledge, including Information Science, na interdisciplinary field that focuses on informational phenomena in all their complexity. Disinformation is a phenomenon that involves the creation and dissemination of false, misleading or incorrect information in various social, political and cultural contexts, with harmful purposes. This issue has become increasingly relevant due to the advancement of information and communication technologies, which has created a favorable environment for the circulation of disinformation. Information Science has been working to address the phenomenon of disinformation, developing research and studies that aim to understand this topic and its consequences. In this context, this work aimed to analyze the subthemes related to the object of study “disinformation” in the area of Information Science, through the analysis of theses and dissertations available in the Brazilian Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (BDTD), in the period between 2016 and 2024. Having as specific objectives: a) Identify the theses and dissertations published between 2016 and 2024 in the BDTD, related to disinformation in the area of Informat iionn Science; b) Map the subthemes worked with the theme disinformation; c) Describe the subthemes found in relation to their theoretical aspects and, d) Verify the conceptual network around disinformation, in the field of Information Science. Supported by a theoretical framework of Information Science, the research discusses the phenomenon of disinformation, carrying out a bibliographic review of the theme and highlighting its main characteristics and problems of interest to the area. In the methodological context, the research is characterized as an exploratory study, with a quantitative and qualitative approach. It uses bibliographical and bibliometric research and content analysis procedures to achieve the proposed objective. The results revealed a sample of 46 publications that explore disinformation in postgraduate programs in Information Science. The research identified 138 subthemes, with emphasis on post-truth, fake news, information literacy, fact-checking, critical information literacy and information practices as the most recurrent. Fake news often feeds post-truth narratives, in which emotional beliefs prevail over the veracity of facts. Therefore, strategies such as the development of critical information literacy and the systematic practice of fact-checking are indicated as essential to mitigate the harmful effects of disinformation. Furthermore, in the current scenario, there is an urgent need for conceptual and empirical deepening of the identified subthemes.