Fact-checking beyond WEIRD countries de-centering mis- and disinformation frameworks

This doctoral thesis provides an investigation into the understudied landscape of fact-checking practices devised outside the realm of Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic (WEIRD) countries. Through a sequence of four interconnected papers, the thesis examines how fact-checkers operating in non-WEIRD locations address emerging challenges related to mis- and disinformation in accordance with the characteristics of their geographical contexts. Drawing on a de-westernizing theoretical framework, the thesis aims to fill epistemological gaps left by the prevalent scholarship on fact-checking and mis/disinformation, which largely relies on the ethical principles and professional norms of practitioners situated in WEIRD contexts. The research data comprises an extensive series of qualitative interviews conducted with 37 fact-checking professionals from 35 organizations operating in 27 non-WEIRD countries across 4 continents. The interview data is analyzed through a reflexive thematical analysis approach, focused on cataloguing the metajournalistic discourse of the interview participants. Thus, the thesis is centered at answering the following research questions: 1) What concepts of problematic information do non-WEIRD fact-checkers use to identify mis- and disinformation in relation to their language and culture? 2) What anti-mis- and disinformation frameworks do non-WEIRD fact-checkers develop to address problematic information within their respective contexts? 3) How do social platforms' content governance infrastructures and policies impact the workflows of non-WEIRD fact-checkers? Through the findings and discussions presented in each paper, the thesis sheds novel light on the unique frameworks, strategies, and challenges associated with the normative standards, institutional missions, and adaptations devised by non-WEIRD fact-checking organizations to combat problematic information and maximize their impact on audiences in their information ecosystems. Resultingly. the thesis argues that fact-checking practices outside the WEIRD spectrum show a broad set of normative and ethical orientations that deviate from frameworks focusing on problematic individual behaviour. The thesis concludes by outlining three epistemological and theoretical dimensions that contribute to a ‘de-centering’ perspective on consolidated understandings of fact-checking and problematic information, highlighting the role played by geographical contexts in shaping fact-checking practices: 1) Fact-checking as a Culturally-situated Practice; 2) The Contextual Nature of Mis- and Disinformation; and 3) The Politics of Fact-checking as Content Moderation.