DFG-Projektleiterin: „Desinformationskontext und das Entstehen von Fact-Checking-Organisationen in Europa und Lateinamerika“ (Seminar für Medien- und Kommunikationswissenschaft)

Kontakt

C18 – Lehrgebäude 4 / Raum 204

Besucheranschrift

Campus
Seminar für Medien- und Kommunikationswissenschaft
C18 – Lehrgebäude 4
Alfred-Weber-Platz 4
99089 Erfurt

Postanschrift

Universität Erfurt
Seminar für Medien- und Kommunikationswissenschaft
Postfach 90 02 21
99105 Erfurt

Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin (Seminar für Medien- und Kommunikationswissenschaft)

Kontakt

C18 – Lehrgebäude 4 / Raum 204

Sprechzeiten

Dienstag: 12h-14h (bitte voranmelden per E-Mail)

Besucheranschrift

Campus
Seminar für Medien- und Kommunikationswissenschaft
C18 – Lehrgebäude 4
Alfred-Weber-Platz 4
99089 Erfurt

Postanschrift

Universität Erfurt
Seminar für Medien- und Kommunikationswissenschaft
Postfach 90 02 21
99105 Erfurt

Dr. Regina Cazzamatta

Lebenslauf

Kurzvita

  • August 2022 – Juli 2025 |Leitung des DFG-Projekts „Desinformationskontext und das Entstehen von Fact-Checking-Organisationen in Europa und Lateinamerika“.
  • Juli 2021 – Juli 2022 |Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin an der Universität Erfurt  (Seminar für Medien und Kommunikationswissenschaft)
  • Mai 2020 - Juli 2021 |Inititialisierungsstipendium für Nachwuchswissenschaftler der Universität Erfurt zum Forschungsprojekt ‚Fake News and Fact Checkers in Europe and Latin America‘ am Seminar für Medien- und Kommunikationswissenschaft
  • März 2020 | Promotion zum Thema: „Die Struktur und Entstehungsbedingungen der Lateinamerika-Berichterstattung in der deutschen Presse“
  • SoSe 2019 - SoSe 2021 | Lehrbeauftragte im Studiengang Global Communication: Politics and Society an der Professur für Kommunikationswissenschaft mit dem Schwerpunkt Vergleichende Analyse von Mediensystemen und Kommunikationskulturen (Prof. Dr. Kai Hafez)
  • 2016 - 2017 | 24-wöchiger Forschungsaufenthalt als Gastdoktorandin am Leibniz-Institut für Globale und Regionale Studien (Lateinamerika-Ilas), GIGA-Hamburg — September 2016–März 2017
  • 01/2014 - 04/2014 | Praktika im Journalismus bei der Deutschen Welle, portugiesische  Redaktion für Afrika (Radio und Online) und brasilianische Redaktion (Online)
  • 10/2011 - 02/2114 | Masterprogramm  Kommunikationsforschung an der Universität Erfurt,  Thema der Masterarbeit: „Brasilienberichterstattung in der deutschen Presse“
  • 2007 - 2011 | Spezialisierungsprogramm internationaler Journalismus - Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo (PUC-SP)
  • 2002 - 2006 | Bachelor in Kommunikationswissenschaft mit Schwerpunkt Journalistik
  • 2002 - 2008 | Praktika und berufliche Erfahrung im Bereich Journalismus und Öffentlichkeitsarbeit in São Paulo

Akademische Selbstverwaltung

  • 2021 und 2022: Co-Koordinierung des Eignungsfeststellungsverfahrens (EFV) des Masterstudiengangs Globale Kommunikation: Politik und Gesellschaft
  • 2022: Koordinatorin des “Summer Program in Communications Erfurt“ (SPICE) in Kooperation mit der Texas-Tech University (TTU), der University of Texas at Austin und der University of Oklahoma
  • Co-Koordinierung des DAAD-Projekts – Förderung ausländischer Gastdozenten zu Lehrtätigkeiten an deutschen Hochschulen ab Sommersemester 2023 Projekt: „Medien und Transformation in Europa und Südostasien (mit Prof. Kai Hafez und Dr. Anne Grüne)
  • Co-Organisation der Vorkonferenz im Rahmen der 73rd annual ICA: The Global Fact-Checking Movement: Regional, Comparative, Organizational, and Institutional Perspectives, Toronto, Canada, 25.05.23 (mit Prof. Dr. Lucas Graves and Dr. Laurens Lauer). Chairs: Laurens Lauer, U Duisburg-Essen; Lucas Graves, UW-Wisconsin; Regina Cazzamatta, U Erfurt.

Forschung

Forschungsschwerpunkte

  • Auslandsberichterstattung, Lateinamerika-Image, globale Kommunikation, Journalismus, Fact-Checking und Desinformation, vergleichende Mediensysteme  
  • Methoden: Quantitative und qualitative Methoden der Kommunikationswissenschaft, Methodologie vergleichender Kommunikationsforschung

Aktuelles Forschungsprojekt

Disinformation Environments and the Emergence of Fact-Checking  Organisations in Europe and Latin America

Gefördert durch die Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)/ eigene Stelle von August 2022 bis Juli 2025.

Fact-Checking organisations provide the most relevant non-governmental reactions to the increasing amount of disinformation around the globe and they have become one of the most popular innovations to tackle this problem (Saurwein & Spencer-Smith, 2020). For democracy to prosper, a society must have the instruments to remedy political misperceptions among its citizens, and fact-checking is one of them (Garrett et al. 2013). Fact-checkers’ primary function is not only to debunk online alternative facts but also to verify claims made by political actors (Saurwein & Spencer-Smith, 2020). Fact-checking units are flourishing among the websites of several media sectors: global news agencies (AFP and Reuters Fact Check, DPA-Faktencheck or Efe Verifica), broadcasting (ARD-Faktenfinder or BBC Reality Check), newspapers (Fact Checks -The New York Times) and even independent NGO-based organisations (Correctiv, Full Fact or Maldita). This tendency has indeed spread around the world, and nowadays, 236 fact-checking websites are active in the five continents (Duke Reporters’ Lab, 2020).

Although online disinformation is a global development, fact-checkers are formed by national environments (Graves & Cherubini, 2016). They are intertwined with the media systems they operate in. Hence, to fully comprehend this phenomenon, it is crucial to conduct a comparative analysis of its mechanisms and to investigate how fact-checkers debunk disinformation. Oriented by micro, meso and macro structures, this project – funded by the DFG from August 2022 – focuses on how disparities in the media and political systems impact not only on the disinformation landscape but also on the work of fact-checkers (debunking articles, performance, professional practices, and challenges). Thus; the main research question reads: how do online disinformation and the programme of fact-checking organisations vary according to different media systems in Europe and Latin America? The results of the US-presidential election and the UK Brexit referendum in 2016 demonstrated the consequences of “[a] post-truth political culture of public debate” (Hafez, 2017, p. 6) and of a public sphere dominated by irrational discussions (Hafez, 2019). Similar developments were also observed in Latin America, a region marked by weak penetration of public service broadcasting and high use of social media as a source of news (Reuters Institute, 2020). The election of the far-right populist candidate Jair Bolsonaro 2018 (Cazzamatta, 2020f; Saucedo Añez & Cazzamatta, 2020) equally prompted concerns about the effects of disinformation in the region. The Brazilian police investigated a ‘fake news’ network, the so-called digital militia, that might be linked to the president’s son.

Despite a few exploratory studies on the fact-checking phenomenon in Europe and despite the fact that an abundant amount in the US has already been published, there is a lack of comparison integrating non-Western nations, such as the Latin American new democracies. Euro-American comparisons are important, but they exclude a large portion of the world (Badr et al., 2020). Thus, this project is based on a “most different system design” (Rössler, 2011), in the sense that this comprises eight countries amidst Europe and Latin America with different forms of political systems and democratic levels. The research combines a quantitative content analysis of 4,400 debunking articles with 22 qualitative expert interviews. In addition, the project will provide a new theoretical approach to the analysis of fact-checking units grounded on concepts of the public sphere, discourse and system theory. Within Europe, Germany, the UK, Spain and Portugal were incorporated when considering the three types of media systems (Hallin & Mancini, 2004). In Latin America, Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela were selected due to their contrasting media and political indicators.

Mitgliedschaften und sonstige akademische Tätigkeiten

  • Mitgliedschaften: DGPuK, DGPuK-Fachgruppe Internationale und Interkulturelle Kommunikation, ICA, IAMCR, ECREA
  • Begutachtungstätigkeit für Journalism Practice”, “Journal of Intercultural Communication Research,” “Digital Journalism,” “Mass Communication & Society” (Taylor & Francis); “Newspaper Research Journal,” “New Media and Society,” “Emerging Media” (SAGE); “Brazilian Journalism Research;” “Intercom” (Revista Brasileira de Ciências da Comunicação); “Matrizes” (USP-SP); “Revista de la Asociación Española de Investigación de la Comunicación;” “International Journal of Communication” (Annenberg), “Communications: The European Journal of Communication Research;” “Media and Communication” (Cogitatio Press); “Journal of Latin American Geography” (University of Texas Press); DGPuK 2024-Erfurt; “Publizistik” (Springer); Palgrave Macmillan Books.
  • 2022-2024 Co-Sprecherin/ Zweite Sprecherin der Fachgruppe Internationale und Interkulturelle Kommunikation/ (mit Dr. Anne Grüne)
  • 2024. ICA PhD Colloquium Mentorship.

Publikationen

Monographien und eingeladene Beiträge

  • Cazzamatta, R. 2025. “Fact-Checking: Broadening the Research Horizon with Latin American Perspectives on the Fight Against Misinformation.” In Cosmopolitan Communication Studies: Toward Deep Internationalization, edited by C. Richter, M. Radue, C. Horz-Ishak, A. Litvinenko,H. Badr, and A. Fiedler, 227–246. Bielefeld: Transcript. accepted/forthcoming, https://doi.org/10.14361/9783839476772
  • Cazzamatta, R. (2025). “Artificial Intelligence and Mis-/Disinformation, Fake News, and Deepfake.” In A. Sarısakaloğlu & M. Löffelholz (Eds.), Handbook of Artificial Intelligence and Journalism (Vol. forthcoming). Wiley. [Accepted manuscript]
  • Accepted manuscript, to be published in: Regina, C. (2025). Foreign Reporting. In A. Nai, M. Grömping, & D. Wirz (Eds.), Elgar. Encyclopedia of Political Communication. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
  • Cazzamatta, R., & Hafez, K. (2021). Mediated Populism: The US-Image under Trump in German Media. In Y. R. Kamalipour (Ed.), Global Perceptions of the United States and Trump. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. Link
  • Cazzamatta, R. (2020). Lateinamerikaberichterstattung der deutschen Presse: Struktur und Entstehungsbedingungen Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften. Link
  • Cazzamatta, R. (2014). Brasilien-Berichterstattung in der deutschen Presse. Berlin: Frank & Timme. (IBS 978-3-7329-0069-5)

Aufsätze in Fachzeitschriften

  • Cazzamatta, R. (2025). “Regressive ‚alternative‘ media and their role in disrupting the public spheres in Europe and Latin America.” Publizistik 1/2-2025, [Accepted/Forthcoming].
  • Cazzamatta, R. (2025). “Building a Cross-Border European Information Network: Hyperlink Connections Among Fact-Checking Organizations.” Media and Communication, [Accepted/ Forthcoming].
  • Cazzamatta, R. (2025). “Decoding Correction Strategies: How Fact-Checkers Uncover Falsehoods Across Countries.” Journalism Studies. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2025.2470177
  • Cazzamatta, R. (2025). “Redefining Objectivity: Exploring Types of Evidence by Fact-Checkers in Four European Countries.” European Journal of Communication. https://doi.org/10.1177/02673231251319145
  • Cazzamatta, R., & Sarısakaloğlu, A. (2025). “Mapping global emerging scholarly research and practices of AI-supported fact-checking tools in journalism.” Journalism Practice. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2025.2463470
  • Cazzamatta, R. (2024). “Global Misinformation Trends: Commonalities and Differences of Topics, Sources of Falsehoods and Deception Strategies across Eight Countries.” New Media & Society. https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448241268896
  • Cazzamatta, R. (2024b). The Content Homogenization of Fact-checking through Platform Partnerships – A Comparison between Eight countries. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1177/10776990241261725
  • Cazzamatta, R., Santos, A., & Albuquerque, G. (2024). “Unveiling Disinformation: Mapping attacks on Brazil’s Electoral System and the Response of the Superior Electoral Court (2018-2023).” International Journal of Communication, 18. https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/23008/4698
  • Santos, A., & Cazzamatta, R. (2024). Who Shapes Mediated Conversations Among Rising Global Powers? Examining News Geography, Authorship, and Media Sources Within the BRICS Framework. The International Journal of Press/Politicshttps://doi.org/10.1177/19401612241269835
  • Santos, A., & Cazzamatta, R. (2024). “Tracking the Visibility of the BRICS Constellation in Brazilian Newspapers: A Longitudinal Content Analysis (2011-2019).” Brazilian Journalism Researchhttps://doi.org/10.25200/BJR.v20n2.2024.1586.
  • Cazzamatta, R., & Santos, A. (2023). Checking verifications during the 2022 Brazilian run-off election: How fact-checking organizations exposed falsehoods and contributed to the accuracy of the public debate. Journalism, 0(0) https://doi.org/10.1177/14648849231196080
  • Cazzamatta, R., & Santos, A. (2023). Democratically Elected Caudillo”: Western Media Coverage on Venezuela and the Era Chávez- Insights from Germany. Journalism Practicehttps://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2023.2232770
  • Cazzamatta, R. (2022). How can journalism studies benefit from a systems theoretical approach? Luhmann’s systems theory applied to journalism. Galáxia. Revista Do Programa de Estudos Pós-Graduados Em Comunicação e Semiótica - PUC-SP, 47, 1–21. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1982-25532022574652
  • Cazzamatta, R. (2022b). The role of wire services in the new millennium: An examination of the foreign-reporting about Latin America in the German press. Journalism23(5), 1044–1063. https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884920944745
  • Cazzamatta, R. (2022c). Crises as catalysts of foreign reporting on Latin America: An evaluation of the German press over 15 years. Media, War & Conflict, 15(3), 315–333. https://doi.org/10.1177/1750635220945737
  • Cazzamatta, R. (2021). The role of the ‘negativity’ factor in international news coverage: A case study of Latin America in the German press, 2000–2014. Global Media and Communication17(1), 3–23. https://doi.org/10.1177/1742766520946465
  • Cazzamatta, R., & Garcia, L. E. (2021). The Impact of the ‘War on Drugs’ on the Mexican Media Image. The Journal of International Communication, 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/13216597.2021.1975796.
  • Cazzamatta, R. (2021). The Significance of Cultural Aspects in Latin America’s Media Image: The Representation of the Continent in the German Press”. Journal of Latin American Communication Research8 (1-2): Global Latin America in Times of COVID-19 and Hypermediations
  • Cazzamatta, R. (2020). Four Facets of Latin America: A Study of the German Press Coverage from 2000 to 2014. Studies in Communications Sciences, 20(1), 7–23. https://doi.org/10.24434/j.scoms.2020.01.002
  • Cazzamatta, R. (2020). Reporting Latin America in Germany: Indicators of Ethnocentrism Expressed in News Values. Comunicación y Sociedad, (0), 1–28. https://doi.org/10.32870/cys.v2020.7688
  • Cazzamatta, R. (2020). Trends in the International News Coverage on Latin America in Germany in the 21st Century. Galáxia (São Paulo), 44, 66-82.
  • http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1982-25532020245236
  • Cazzamatta, R. (2020). The Brazilian Image in the German Press before the Political-Economic Turmoil. Intercom, Rev. Bras. Ciênc. Comun., 43(3), 115-133. https://doi.org/10.1590/1809-5844202036
  • Cazzamatta, R. (2020). Personification and Prominence in Foreign Reporting on the Example of Latin America’s News Coverage in the German Press. Brazilian Journalism Research 16, 46–77. https://doi.org/10.25200/BJR.v16n1.2020.1247
  • Añez, P. C., & Cazzamatta, R. (2020). La Representación de Brasil en la Prensa Alemana, el Cambio de Imagen en la Era de Bolsonaro y el Papel de los Medios en la Ascensión del Populismo de Derecha en todo el Mundo. Revista de Estudios Brasileños, 6(13), 201. http://dx.doi.org/10.14201/reb2019613201212
  • Cazzamatta, R. (2018). The Determinants of Latin America’s News Coverage in the German Press. The Journal of International Communication, 24 (2), 283-304. https://doi.org/10.1080/13216597.2018.1492433
  • Cazzamatta, R. (2016). Sobre o Papel das Agências de Relações Públicas durante Guerras e Conflitos Internacionais. Estudos em Jornalismo e Mídia, 14(1), 25-38. https://doi.org/10.5007/1984-6924.2017v14n1p25
  • Cazzamatta, R. (2015). Uma Análise Comparada dos Códigos de Ética Jornalística nos Países da América do Sul. Estudos em Jornalismo e Mídia, 12(1), 186-201. https://doi.org/10.5007/1984-6924.2015v12n1p186
  • Cazzamatta, R. (2014). A Imagem do Brasil na Imprensa Alemã—Um Estudo Empírico sobre os Fatores de Seleção da Notícia e da Estrutura do Noticiário. Estudos em Jornalismo e Mídia, 11(2), 540-554. doi.org/10.5007/1984-6924.2014v11n2p540

Rezensionen

Herausgeberschaft

Vorträge

Ausgewählte Vorträge

Lehre

Lehrprofil

  • Auslandsberichterstattung
  • Vergleichende Mediensysteme mit Schwerpunkt Lateinamerika
  • Media-Images und Journalismus
  • Desinformation und Fact-Checking
  • Quantitative und qualitative Methoden
  • Journalism Practices in the Global South

Lehre im Master-Studiengang Global Communication: Politics and Society

  • Latin American Media Systems in Regional and International Comparative Perspective
  • Applied Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative Content Analysis of Media Discourses in Global Comparison
  • The Media Image of Latin America in International Comparative Perspective
  • Applied Methods – Fake News Environment and Fact-Checking in Global Comparison
  • Latin American Media Images and International Media Reporting
  • Media Change in the Age of Digital Communication
  • Media Landscapes and Journalism Practices in the Global South – Examples from Latin America, Africa and Asia.
  • Applied Methods: defining what’s truth – fact-checking journalism in global comparison