The information about human evolution: An analysis of news published in
Spanish communication media between 2015 and 2017
Abstract
The present study examines a sample of 220 pieces of news related to
human evolution, written in Spanish and published over a period of two
years, both in digital and print media. The aim of this study is to
assess the rigour and coherence of the information in the news in our
sample with the scientific knowledge on the Theory of Evolution. To this
end, errors and the incorrect use of concepts related to Biological
Evolution are identified; classified according to criteria resulting
from the review of previous studies and finally, the frequency of errors
identified in news published in print media is compared with that
identified in digital media. The results presented allow us to highlight
the significantly high frequency of errors in the news analysed and the
most frequent error categories. Results are discussed within the frame
of the important role of dissemination of information played by
scientific journalism in the processes of knowledge dissemination, in
this case, related to human evolution