This new report presents the findings pertaining to disinformation risks for the media market in Chile, based on a study of 34 news domains. These findings are the result of the research led by the GDI with Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile from January through June 2022.

This risk-rating framework for Chile will provide crucial information to policy-makers, news websites and civil society, enabling key decision makers to stem the tide of money that incentivises and sustains disinformation. 

Overview

Although trust in the Chilean media has broadly risen recently, there are still areas for improvement. While media credibility suffered during the 2019 social protests, evidence shows that overall media reputation is recuperating. Examples as recent as the 2021 presidential election highlight the need to be alert and to help the audience navigate this level of uncertainty with regard to journalism and truth. Another way the media might contribute to restoring their reputation is to be more transparent and to set up checks and balances to increase their accountability.

Findings

In reviewing the media landscape for Chile, GDI’s assessment found that: only one site, 24 Horas (www.24horas.cl), was rated as having a minimum-risk rating.

This site, the only public TV station in the country, received high scores on presenting unbiased, neutral and accurately titled articles on the site. Most importantly, this site has most of the operational checks and balances in place and posts them on its website.

Seven sites were ranked as low-risk. The content on these sites was observed as almost free from negative targeting and sensational language. These sites also performed well in terms of article bias and tended to use accurate headlines.

On the other hand, nearly a quarter of the domains were assessed to present a high risk of disinforming their online users, yet none of the sites reviewed in this study received the maximum-risk rating. These sites do not publish online any guidelines to ensure the accuracy of their stories, and rarely have policies for the correct attribution of stories, facts, and media. Their policies provide little to no information on posting and moderating user comments.

The overall score for the Chilean market shows that the sites generally perform fairly well on average when it comes to the Content pillar (80 out of 100), while they score poorly on average in the Operations pillar (29 out of 100). In other words, many of the risk factors in Chile stem from lack of disclosure of journalistic and editorial standards, and other fundamental information that can ensure that their newsrooms function with integrity and independence.

This suggests that critical improvements in Chile's media system can be achieved by focusing on these operational aspects.

Conclusion

Our assessment of the disinformation risk in the Chilean media market shows a concentration of sites with a medium risk of disinformation.

News sites could address shortcomings by taking actions such as:

• Making information about funding and ownership clear and accessible on their website.
• Publishing statements of editorial independence, guidelines for ensuring accuracy and ways in which to avoid conflicts of interest.
• Publishing byline information wherever possible and appropriate.
• Making public their policies regarding pre-publication fact-checking processes.
• Providing a clear indication of how published errors will be corrected and a means for readers to communicate them to the site.
• Increasing the information available on their websites about how they identify and source the elements of the articles.
• Improving and increasing the visibility of the policy regarding comments.

Read the report for GDI’s full analysis — and to learn more about what newsrooms in Chile can do to diminish risks of disinforming their readers.