The following report presents findings pertaining to disinformation risks for the media market in Mexico, based on a study of 31 news domains. The data provide an initial snapshot of the overall strengths and challenges that these sites face to mitigate disinformation risks. All of these findings come from the research led by the GDI with Data Cívica, in January through May 2021. The market analysis is based on nearly 20 disinformation flags that were assessed for Mexico by Data Cívica and by an independent perceptions survey.

This report presents the average scores for the market sample. Customarily, sites that are rated as a minimum- risk site and/or score above a 90 on any of the three pillars are named and profiled in the report. In the present study, none of the sampled sites achieved a rating of minimum disinformation risk. However, six sites in the sample scored a rating higher than 90 on the Content pillar. The authors decided to avoid disclosing the name of the best-performing websites in this report because of the current political environment in Mexico. By drawing attention to a small group of publications, the report might heighten the hostility towards the media and endanger journalists, especially those who are critical of the current administration.

The GDI risk rating methodology is not an attempt to identify truth and falsehoods. It does not label any site as a disinformation site—or, inversely, as a trusted news site. Rather, our approach is based on the idea that a range of signals, taken together, can indicate a site’s risk of carrying disinformation.

The scores should be seen as offering initial insights into the Mexican media market and its overall levels of disinformation risk. The results are open to debate and refinement with stakeholders from news sites, advertisers and the ad tech industry. (The appendix of this report outlines the assessment framework).8 We look forward to this engagement.