Luis Miguel Romero Rodriguez

Luis M. Romero-Rodríguez es Profesor Titular de Comunicación Estratégica en la Facultad de Ciencias de la Comunicación de la Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (Madrid, España), y desde mayo de 2022 está acreditado al cuerpo docente de Catedráticos de Universidad por la Agencia Nacional de evaluación del profesorado (ANECA). En la actualidad es profesor responsable del Máster Universitario en Comunicación de la Salud de la URJC y profesor de su programa de Doctorado en Ciencias Sociales y Jurídicas, en la línea de investigación Comunicación. Asimismo, es profesor invitado en varios programas de postgrado en la Universidad de Especialidades Espíritu Santo (Ecuador), la Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, y la Universidad Nebrija (España), siendo colaborador externo de su programa de Doctorado en Comunicación Digital y Medios.

EDUCATION

Doctor en Comunicación por las universidades de Huelva, Sevilla, Málaga y Cádiz (2014), premio extraordinario de Doctorado por la Universidad de Huelva (2015) y Máster en Comunicación Social por la Universidad de Almería (España). Ha realizado postgrados en Derecho y Políticas Internacionales por la Universidad Central de Venezuela y en Docencia Universitaria por la Universidad Nueva Esparta (Venezuela). Me licencié en Comunicación Social, mención Comunicaciones Corporativas y en Derecho por la Universidad Santa María (Venezuela).

RESEARCH, TEACHING, or OTHER INTERESTS

Communication, General Social Sciences, Health (social science), Cultural Studies

Scopus Publications

Suicide media coverage in Ibero-american digital media: content analysis and news framing
Santiago Tejedor, Luis M. Romero-Rodríguez, Jesús Martínez, and David Rull Ribó
Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM)
La cobertura informativa sobre el suicidio debe tener especial tratamiento por parte de periodistas y medios de comunicación. Estudios previos confirman que la narrativa puede desencadenar imitadores e incluso pensamientos suicidas en personas con trastornos de salud mental. En este sentido, la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) y la Organización Panamericana de la Salud (OPS) han brindado varias directrices para la cobertura de este tema. Esta investigación analiza la cobertura del suicidio en los principales medios de comunicación de 20 países iberoamericanos a partir de un análisis de contenido y de encuadre informativo de diseño cuanti-cualitativo. Los resultados arrojan que la explicación al suicidio más común es multicausal seguida por la ambiental o de contexto. En línea con las recomendaciones de la OMS-OPS, la mayoría de informaciones intentan educar al público, aunque todavía sigue siendo una materia pendiente indicar en las notas sobre cómo y dónde buscar ayuda. Se observó que en general la mayoría de las informaciones utilizan fuentes mixtas, tanto de expertos como familiares/amigos de las víctimas. Sin embargo, del análisis cualitativo se extrae que algunos encuadres están salpicados de tópicos y lugares comunes, recayendo en coberturas que se alejan de las directrices, informando sobre detalles del hecho o estableciendo relaciones causa-efecto imposibles de verificar. En los casos que se evidenciaron enfoques constructivos pesó más el tono narrativo explicativo, aportando datos con los que hacerse una idea clara de la complejidad del tema. 


Integrating Artificial Intelligence and Big Data in Spanish Journalism Education: A Curricular Analysis
Santiago Tejedor, Laura Cervi, Luis M. Romero-Rodríguez, and Stephanie Vick
MDPI AG
Artificial intelligence (AI) and big data have impacted different professional sectors in our society. Communication and journalism are clearly among them. From the automatic generation of content to the identification of topics of interest or monitoring of users’ usage habits, AI introduces important training challenges for professionals in the field of communication. Meanwhile, big data analytics enables data journalists to handle large amounts of information in an automated manner, allowing them to perform in-depth analysis of disorganized data. This study analyzes the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and big data in the curricula of journalism degrees offered by Spanish universities. The research employs quantitative and qualitative methods to examine the typology, syllabus, and distribution of subjects directly or indirectly addressing AI and big data topics, based on indicators such as structure, credit system, objectives, competencies, and professional profiles. The results reveal a scarce integration of AI and Big Data subjects in journalism curricula in Spain. Among the analyzed courses, only seven addressed data journalism as a complete course, while 19 introduced AI and Big Data as part of more general content. The study highlights the need for journalism education to adapt to the disruptive impact of AI and big data on the profession. It discusses the debate between focusing on teaching technological skills versus providing critical and ethical values. The research aims to contribute to the discussion on the readiness of journalism curricula to cope with technological advancements by analyzing the Spanish case.


Internal communication from a happiness management perspective: state-of-the-art and theoretical construction of a guide for its development
Luis M. Romero-Rodríguez and Bárbara Castillo-Abdul
Springer Science and Business Media LLC



Religious tourism: A Meta-analysis and state-of-the-art 2019-2023
, Santiago Tejedor Calvo, Laura Cervi, , Luis M. Romero-Rodríguez, and
University of La Laguna
Religious tourism is an important economic and cultural driver for many destinations and is one of the fastest-growing sectors within the global tourism market. Based on a meta-analysis and review of emerging literature from the period 2019-2023 in the Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) of the Web of Science (WoS), this study analyses, from a quantitative-qualitative approach, the state-of-the-art research on this sub-category of tourism from a corpus of 500 documents. The most relevant results show that the COVID- 19 pandemic affected scientific production, with China, the United States, and Spain being the three countries that have published the most on the subject. Research on tourism to Christian and Islamic destinations appears most frequently. However, destinations linked to Hinduism tend to be over-represented with respect to numbers of people of this creed, which may be due to tourism specialising in meditation and wellness.


Hospital Web Quality Multicriteria Analysis Model (HWQ): Development and Application Test in Spanish Hospitals
Santiago Tejedor and Luis M. Romero-Rodríguez
MDPI AG
The Hospital Web Quality Multicriteria Analysis Model (HWQ) is constructed, designed, and validated in this research. For this purpose, we examined the web quality analysis models specialized in hospitals and health centers through a literature review and the most current taxonomies to analyze digital media. Based on the benchmarking and walkthrough methods, the analysis model was built and validated by a panel of experts (X = 3.54, CVI = 0.88, Score Σ = 45.58). To test its applicability and reliability, the model was pilot-tested on the websites of the ten public and private hospitals with the best reputation in Spain in 2022, according to the Merco Sanitario ranking. The results showed very similar web structures divided by specific proposals or sections of some centers. In this regard, this study identifies a general communication proposal in hospitals that does not adapt to the guidelines of screen-mediated communication, as well as a lack of personalization and disruptive storytelling ideation. In addition, the work concludes that Spanish hospitals, for the moment, have not opted for formats and technological developments derived from the possibilities of gamified content, 360° immersion, Virtual Reality (V.R), or Augmented Reality (A.R).


Web taxonomy of the main military units of the planet: content analysis and digital ethnography
Santiago Tejedor-Calvo, David Rull-Ribo, Jesús Martínez, and Luis M. Romero-Rodríguez
Escuela Militar de Cadetes Jose Maria Cordova
Diferentes ejércitos del mundo han apostado por convertir sus sitios web en el centro de su estrategia comunicativa digital. Este trabajo examina y compara los sitios web de 14 unidades militares de élite de los cinco continentes para elaborar una taxonomía a partir de dimensiones e indicadores estructurados de usabilidad, contenidos, interactividad y accesibilidad. Para ello, a través de un análisis de contenido cuanti-cualitativo, que consta de 14 dimensiones temáticas, 36 indicadores y 69 variables, se ha desarrollado una etnografía digital cualitativa. El estudio identifica, entre otros aspectos, la importancia del componente dialógico y multiformato en el ciberespacio. Además, concluye que, en general, los ejércitos analizados apenas han incorporado tipologías de contenidos derivados de la gamificación, la inmersión y la virtualidad, entre otros.


Low Back Pain on YouTube: Quality and Educational Value
Tomás Fontaines-Ruiz, Luis M. Romero-Rodríguez, Luis F. Reyes-Pérez, and Samuel Reyes-Hernández
Hipatia Press
El consumo de información en redes sociales se ha convertido en un comportamiento prevalente entre personas con enfermedades ortopédicas, que aprovechan el efecto de apomediación de plataformas para satisfacer sus necesidades informativas, descuidando los riesgos asociados. En este contexto, el objetivo de esta investigación es evaluar la calidad y el valor educativo del contenido relacionado con el dolor lumbar en español, difundido en YouTube. Esta evaluación emplea una metodología de análisis de contenido codificada a través de tres instrumentos ad hoc previamente validados. Se llevó a cabo un estudio descriptivo-evaluativo en una muestra final de 70 videos. Los resultados indican que la información examinada presenta un bajo valor educativo, muestra deficiencias en el diseño educativo técnico, carece de precisión científica y claridad en el mensaje, y revela una autoridad epistemológica disminuida entre los creadores de contenido. Estos factores contribuyen a la generación potencial de confusión, interpretación errónea y difusión de información inapropiada relacionada con el manejo del dolor lumbar.


The trend towards anti-capitalist dystopia in contemporary serials: Narrative analysis of the Korean tragedy Squid Game
Carlos Fernández-Rodríguez and Luis M. Romero-Rodríguez
Intellect
Nowadays, the spectator lives surrounded by television series in which increasingly complex, depressing and denouncing themes proliferate. About this, the Netflix hit Squid Game (2021) is a clear representation of a mass culture increasingly virtuous in staging, as well as more horrifying, preachy and sensationalist. Based on the observation of the phenomenon that the series has meant, narrative content analysis has been carried out in which we have sought to find evidence of how mainstream culture continues to popularize and stylize audio-visual abjection in the context of the third golden age of television and the fascination with the plots of torture porn or postmodern cinema of cruelty. The results show that Squid Game is a faithful product of its time: as a current prestige series, it is dark, depressing, pessimistic and has an artistic aura without neglecting entertainment and explores human complexity in themes such as suicide, genocide and violence.


Unveiling the truth: A systematic review of fact-checking and fake news research in social sciences
Santiago Tejedor, Luis M. Romero-Rodríguez, and Mónica Gracia-Villar
Bastas Publications
The current media ecosystem, marked by immediacy and social networks dynamics, has created a fertile field for disinformation. Faced with its exponential growth, since 2014, research has focused on combating false content in the media. From a descriptive approach, this study has analyzed 200 documents on fact-checking and fake news published between 2014 and 2022 in scientific journals indexed in Scopus. This study has found that Europe and the United States are leading the way in the number of journals and authors publishing on the subject. The United States universities are the ones that host the most significant number of authors working on fact-checking, while the methodologies used, mostly <i>ad hoc</i> due to the novelty of the topic, allow to reflect on the need to promote work focused on the design, testing, and evaluation of prototypes or real experiences within the field. The most common contributions analyzed include typologies of false content and media manipulation mechanisms, models for evaluating and detecting disinformation, proposals to combat false content and strengthen verification mechanisms, studies on the role of social media in the spread of disinformation, efforts to develop media literacy among the public and journalists, case studies of fact-checkers, identification of factors that influence the belief in fake news, and analysis of the relationship between disinformation, verification, politics, and democracy. It is concluded that it is essential to develop research that connects the academy with the industry to raise awareness of the need to address these issues among the different actors in the media scenario.


Corporate social responsibility communication of male luxury fashion brands: analysis on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok
Bárbara Castillo-Abdul, Eglée Ortega Fernandez, and Luis M. Romero-Rodriguez
Emerald
PurposeThis study aims to analyze the content on corporate social responsibility (CSR) of Gucci, Prada and Ermenegildo Zegna on the social networks Instagram, Facebook and TikTok in order to examine the focus of the publications of these luxury brands, what type of content is more frequent and which ones generate more interaction and engagement.Design/methodology/approachAn interpretive content analysis of a sample of 92 posts on CSR published between December 2021 and June 2022 is used. For this purpose, an analysis sheet validated through theoretical constructs and pilot testing is used.FindingsMost of the social responsibility content of the fashion brands analyzed is linked to the use of sustainable materials, the protection of natural spaces and, in the particular case of Prada, the protection of the oceans. The posts that achieve the highest interactions are videos and photo reels. Although the strategies that significantly increase brands' reach on social networks are collaborations and joint posts with other fashion brands, as is the case of Gucci with NorthFace and Prada with Adidas. Also, one of the main findings of this research has been to identify that brands may be using TikTok – perhaps experimentally – to reach stakeholders in Asian countries, especially China, where other platforms such as Instagram or Facebook may have a more limited reach.Originality/valueThis research shows that the social responsibility activities of luxury fashion brands leverage the content marketing strategy in social networks. It also demonstrates the importance of the Asian market (mainly Chinese) in the outreach strategies of brands, as is the case of Gucci and Prada, which bet on CSR activities for the protection of the Asian tiger in the framework of the year of the tiger in the Chinese horoscope, as well as the publication of certain content on TikTok.


Postcensorship in Streaming: Political Alienation of Millenials and Centennials Toward Audiovisual Productions
Carlos Fernández-Rodríguez, Luis M. Romero-Rodríguez, and Bárbara Castillo-Abdul
Universidad Autonoma del Estado de Mexico
Esta investigación examina el grado de alienación política que los espectadores consideran tener respecto a las producciones audiovisuales. Para ello, se aplicó una encuesta a 998 millennials y centennials en España y México, los dos países hispanohablantes que más OTT[1] consumen. Los resultados muestran que los jóvenes consideran legítimo quejarse en redes sociales a una productora audiovisual cuando una serie o película refleja una visión que no les gusta, lo que posiblemente fomenta un escenario de "dictadura de la audiencia" sobre los creadores de contenidos audiovisuales, que afecta a la libertad creativa y a la libertad de expresión. En este sentido, parece que los jóvenes que tienen el poder discursivo en las redes sociales para cambiar y censurar producciones ven plausible utilizar este canal como denuncia o queja. [1] The acronym OTT stands for "Over The Top". In the world of technology and communication, this term is used to refer to "free transmission", i.e., content that does not require an operator for its distribution. The way in which this content is distributed is through the Internet via applications (AIMC, 2021).


Lifestyle Eco-Influencers Advertising: Is Engagement Driven by Content or Fandom?
Bárbara Castillo-Abdul, Luis Miguel Romero-Rodríguez, and Carlos Fernández-Rodríguez
University of Minho
This research examines the main common characteristics among the contents of five eco-influencer accounts from different Western countries. A quantitative content analysis was performed on 187 Instagram posts published by eco-influencers from the United Kingdom, United States, Belgium, Spain, and Peru. The topics that eco-influencers deal with the most are promoting veganism, spirituality, environmental and political claims, product advertising (their own and third-party), and personal life, generating the most interactions in the accounts. Carousels win on engagement for eco-influencers on Instagram despite videos being sponsors’ favorite format. Both sponsored content and sponsors themselves are well-received, with over half of all posts featuring them. It seems evident that the social capital of influencers encourages environmental commitment, although there is a particular bias to appreciate the person more than their activist message. In light of the results, this research contributes to the social capital theory of influencers by demonstrating that influencers show personal content and emotional appeals, such as activities with their families, personal reflections, and political statements that give them a high sense of authenticity, but which, blurs the barriers between the public and private spheres.


Owned media, influencer marketing, and unofficial brand ambassadors: differences between narratives, types of prescribers, and effects on interactions on Instagram
José Daniel Barquero Cabrero, Bárbara Castillo-Abdul, Juan Andrés Talamás-Carvajal, and Luis M. Romero-Rodríguez
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
AbstractIn the current era of the attention economy, users find themselves in social networks over-saturated with advertising that tends not to catch the public’s attention or have great credibility. In this sense, brands are trying to get closer to their audiences by using non-invasive, user-generated storytelling strategies with a more natural and experience-focused message. This research aims to compare which narrative elements used by the official accounts of 5 Ibero-American nation brands on Instagram and by the users (UGC) of hashtags promoted from those official accounts generate greater organic interaction on that social network (likes and comments). With a correlational view, we seek to compare whether the promotion of countries generates greater interaction between those generated by owned media and by users (UGC). For this purpose, two analysis sheets were designed and validated to perform quantitative, descriptive, and correlational content analysis and were applied, on the one hand, to 5 official profiles of Ibero-American countries (Argentina, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, and Venezuela) and on the other hand, using the hashtags promoted from these official accounts, the 100 posts of user-generated content (UGC) with greater relevance according to the platform were chosen. The main results show that Reels reach almost five times higher than any other type of posts in UGC accounts, while on the contrary, in corporate accounts, they are the types of content with the least interactions. Unlike what one might think, contests (giveaways) on official accounts generated fewer likes and social responsibility content, and posts featuring influencers and celebrities also failed to achieve significant interactions. Overall, official accounts generate the same amount of likes as UGC but significantly fewer comments. Brands only outperform UGC in likes in individual Photographs or Photo Rolls, while UCG outperforms brands in Reels for both metrics.


Audiovisual in the streaming era: Millennials’ and centennials’ perspectives on cruelty and historical truthfulness
Carlos Fernández-Rodríguez, Luis Miguel Romero-Rodríguez, and Belén Puebla-Martínez
Bastas Publications
The current audiovisual landscape via streaming is characterized by images loaded with aesthetics and violence. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to decipher the audience’s feelings about the violent and dystopian plots that saturate the current panorama of audiovisual entertainment through a survey aimed at millennials and centennials in Spain and Mexico, who are the viewers who consume the most streaming platforms of the two countries. The results show that viewers do not feel that these series, contrary to what it might seem, cause them sadness or low spirits, and, likewise, these viewers consume these products without having a specific idea of whether the audiovisual should show cruelty, historical accuracy or the vicissitudes of the world. In conclusion, this research provides a current map of the feelings of the OTT audience about the shocking, bloody, and visceral images that are so present in the routine of young audiences.


Audiovisual content viewing practices and the psychosocial sentiment of political efficacy in younger audiences from Spain and Mexico
Carlos Fernández-Rodríguez, Luis Miguel Romero-Rodríguez, and Belén Puebla-Martínez
Universidad de Piura
Millennials y centennials son dos generaciones muy implicadas con las cuestiones sociales a nivel político y tecnológico. Este interés ha suscitado en muchos de estos individuos, algunos miembros de comunidades "woke", una búsqueda del lenguaje políticamente correcto tanto en las redes como en la ficción audiovisual contemporánea consumida habitualmente en plataformas de streaming. Este estudio tuvo como objetivo analizar el sentimiento psicosocial de eficacia política que tienen los millennials y centennials como usuarios de plataformas de streaming en España y México para determinar su predisposición y justificación para priorizar sus puntos de vista ante la censura y cancelación de contenidos. Los resultados revelan que los centennials tienen un mayor sentimiento de eficacia que los millennials, siendo estos últimos los más preocupados por la censura y la libertad de expresión a la hora de recibir una noticia.


Toward state-of-the-art on social marketing research in user-generated content (UGC) and influencers
Luis M. Romero-Rodriguez and Bárbara Castillo-Abdul
Emerald
PurposeThis study examines the research that has been conducted on user-generated advertising content in the social marketing strategies of commercial brands to understand the phenomenon, explore academic interest in the topic and identify areas of limited thematic coverage.Design/methodology/approachA systematic review of existing scientific literature in the Web of Science (WoS) and Scopus was carried out using the PRISMA protocol. A co-occurrence matrix was used to review emerging topics on user-generated content (UGC) and influencer marketing, allowing the identification of articles (n = 59) related to the objective of this research.FindingsMost research has analyzed UGC in images or text, but only very few have addressed videos and other digital formats (such as reels, image carousels or podcasts), although there is sufficient work focused on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. There was no evidence of work exploring the effects, repercussions and possible dangers of uncontrolled brand exposure through Unofficial Brand Ambassadors.Originality/valueThe literature review has allowed finding important areas of future research that the scientific community has not sufficiently addressed. Likewise, this work shows structurally several classifications of UGC, which will facilitate future research to deepen and broaden these categories.


‘Millennials and centennials’ perspective on streaming narratives in Spain and Mexico: Spiral of silence, bandwagon effect, and third person effect
Carlos Fernández-Rodríguez, Luis M. Romero-Rodríguez, and Belén Puebla-Martínez
Royallite Global
Viewers are increasingly used to the link between entertainment and technology in the current media ecosystem. The success of consuming streaming platforms when watching movies and series shows how the audience is more involved in new forms of viewing, at any time, at any moment, and with any content. This research aimed to examine the perception of millennial and centennial audiences in Spain and Mexico, the two Spanish-speaking countries with the highest streaming consumption, about audiovisual content producers for entertainment. Three theories on public perception (spiral of silence, bandwagon effect, and third-person effect) were used as the basis of the research questions to unravel the extent to which younger audiences in these countries consider that production companies are, or are not, ethical in the representation of what may be labeled as "sensitive topics". The results show that centennials are more confident in their critical perceptions of controversial issues in movies and series, while, on the other hand, millennials approach their perceptions with more cautiousness and confusion.


Iconographic-symbolic analysis model of Corporate Visual Identity (CVI): Application test on pharmaceutical companies in Spain
Luis M. Romero-Rodríguez, Bárbara Castillo-Abdul, and Patricia Sánchez-Holgado
Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona
This study presents a taxonomy to analyze the Corporate Visual Identity (CVI) through the theoretical construction of iconographic variables. The instrument was validated by an expert panel and a pilot test that examined the CVI of the 50 leading pharmaceutical companies in Spain. The instrument was organized by graphic elements: iconographic sign, linguistic sign, and plastic sign, and helped to catalog the symbolic components of CVI. In the Spanish case, due to its cultural and social context, pharmaceutical brands prefer typographies with no strokes, simple lines, capital letters, and round and medium strokes.


Corporate visual identity of financial institutions in Spain: iconographic-symbolic web content analysis
Arlen Sanz Peralta, Marta Ortiz Ramos, and Luis M. Romero-Rodriguez
Fundacion Universitaria San Pablo CEU
La presente investigación examina la identidad visual de las 72 principales entidades financieras que operan en España a través de un modelo de análisis de contenido iconográfico-simbólico construido ad hoc. Para ello se diseña y valida una ficha de análisis provista de variables teóricas donde cada objeto de muestra responde a las categorías agrupadas por razones de similitud y bajo criterios formales obtenidos del estudio de toda la literatura relacionada con los elementos gráficos fundamentales -signo icónico, lingüístico y plástico- y su aplicación al mundo virtual. Entre los resultados queda demostrado que la legibilidad y modernidad son prioritarias en la mayoría del corpus muestral, con un estilo de tipografía sin remates, trazos simples, caracteres mayúsculos, redondos y de grosor medio. Además, las entidades dan preferencia a otros valores aparte de la profesionalidad y estabilidad, como lo es la cercanía o la confianza, haciendo uso en las composiciones de un rango de calidad de 2-3 colores de combinación cromática donde es apreciable la equidad entre cromáticas frías y cálidas.


Impact of Teaching Workload on Scientific Productivity: Multidimensional Analysis in the Complexity of a Mexican Private University
Maria Soledad Ramirez-Montoya, Hector G. Ceballos, Sandra Martínez-Pérez, and Luis M. Romero-Rodríguez
MDPI AG
Researchers primarily dedicate their time to teaching in Latin American universities. For this reason, it is essential to determine how teaching time affects (or contributes to) the scientific productivity of researchers working under these conditions. We analyzed the incidence of gender, groups taught at undergraduate and graduate levels, the researcher proficiency level, and the number of thesis students advised, among others, for the impact on the scientific productivity (annual publications) of a group of professors. We analyzed the data using both statistical and regression methods. Contrary to our initial hypothesis, the number of groups taught does not significantly influence research productivity; it is affected by other factors such as belonging to the Mexican Researcher System (SNI) or having a researcher or administrative position at the institution. Our results can help guide the formulation of academic and research policies that contribute to the scientific productivity of Latin American universities.


Guest editorial: Digitalization of Corporate Communications: a multi-stakeholder approach
Luis M. Romero-Rodríguez and Bárbara Castillo-Abdul
Emerald



Scorsese, Hypertext and Antiheroes: Taxi Driver and The King of comedy versus Joker and The Batman
Institute for Advanced Studies



Patterns and Actors of Disinformation: Analysis of Debunked Hoaxes in Spain in 2022
David Blanco-Herrero, Bárbara Castillo-Abdul, and Luis Miguel Romero Rodríguez
KOME Journal
This research examines the patterns followed by disinformation in Spain through the fact-checking activities of Maldita.es, the leading fact-checking organisation in Spain. We sought to answer three research questions: 1. What are the predominant topics of the hoaxes debunked by Maldita.es? 2. Who is responsible for the creation and dissemination of these hoaxes? and 3. In what formats and platforms are these hoaxes generally distributed? For this purpose, we conducted a quantitative content analysis of 729 hoaxes fact-checked in 2022 by Maldito Bulo. 40.7% of the debunked hoaxes were related to social issues, while 37.2% focused on political affairs. Regarding those responsible for the creation and dissemination, most of the hoaxes came from unidentified sources, although when the identity is known, the most frequent contributors are social media accounts, alternative and partisan pseudo-media and journalists. These results explore the general disinformation scenario in Spain, using fact-checking as an approximation and discussing its implications.


Streaming audiovisual audiences: analysis of the feelings of efficacy, alienation and cynicism in millennials and centennials in Spain and Mexico
Carlos Fernández-Rodríguez, Luis M. Romero-Rodríguez, and Belén Puebla-Martínez
Informa UK Limited



Apomediation and Disintermediation: YouTube Prescribers on Fad Diets
Bárbara Castillo-Abdul, David Blanco-Herrero, and Luis M. Romero-Rodríguez
Bentham Science Publishers Ltd.
Background: As a result of the confinements of the COVID-19 pandemic and the sedentary lifestyle due to teleworking, there is an increase in weight gain and dietary carelessness in the population, which leads to an increase in offers of fad diets based on recommendations made by digital influencers. Objective: The aim of the study was to examine the characteristics of dietary recommendation videos made by non-health professional prescribers in Spanish and English to understand what patterns are followed by the productions of this type of content and what effects they have on the interaction they receive. Methods: An exploratory walkthrough method analysis was applied to define the variables of a codebook, followed by a content analysis of a sample of 50 videos published between January 2020 and July 2021. Results: Most of the videos are published in the first months of the year, probably aimed at users seeking to reduce the weight gained during Christmas. The productions were characterized by having a very personal tone, informative and with relatively plural information, sometimes addressing the risks of diets or slimming products, and, although recommendations abound, the voices of experts are not frequent. Conclusion: The products and diets addressed in the videos often have a high health risk and do not involve practices recommended by experts, so although sometimes their contraindications or associated risks are pointed out, the promotional component and the search for traffic to the channel seem to be more relevant factors than public health in these videos.

RECENT SCHOLAR PUBLICATIONS

Ms all del todo o nada: matices en la dicotoma cantidad vs. calidad en la produccin cientfica
LM Romero-Rodrguez
Anuario ThinkEPI 19 2025



Mapeo de herramientas narrativas de IA aplicadas al periodismo
S Tejedor, RN Guerrero Gmez, LM Romero-Rodrguez
Teknokultura. Revista de Cultura Digital y Movimientos Sociales 2025



Divulgacin y visibilidad de revistas cientficas en Ciencias Sociales. Estrategias editoriales y de redes sociales
S Tejedor, LM Romero-Rodrguez, D Martnez-Fernndez, J., Rull-Rib
Revista Cientfica General Jos Mara Crdova 23 (49), 41-62 2025



Cobertura del suicidio en medios iberoamericanos: anlisis de contenido y encuadre informativo
S Tejedor, LM Romero-Rodriguez, J Martnez, D Rull Rib
Estudios sobre el Mensaje Periodstico 31 (1), 127-141 2025



Analysis of the digital communication strategies of websites of the most visited museums in Europe
S Tejedor, LM Romero-Rodrguez, D Rull-Rib, E Hita
Revista de Comunicacin de la SEECI, 1-22 2025



Redes comunicativas universitarias sNOOC por la educacin meditica de la tercera edad
J Gil Quintana, E Garca Blazquez, JJ Hueso Romero, ...
Texto Livre: Linguagem e Tecnologia 18 (1), 2 2025



Internal communication from a happiness management perspective: state-of-the-art and theoretical construction of a guide for its development
LM Romero-Rodrguez, B Castillo-Abdul
BMC Psychology 12 (1), 1-23 2024



El turismo religioso como objeto de estudio. Revisin bibliogrfica sistematizada (2019-2023)
S Tejedor Calvo, L Cervi, LM Romero-Rodrguez
PASOS Revista de Turismo y Patrimonio Cultural 22 (4), 843-856 2024



Integrating Artificial Intelligence and Big Data in Spanish Journalism Education: A Curricular Analysis
S Tejedor, L Cervi, LM Romero-Rodrguez, S Vick
Journalism and Media 5 (4), 1607-1623 2024



Hospital Web Quality Multicriteria Analysis Model (HWQ): Development and Application Test in Spanish Hospitals
S Tejedor, LM Romero-Rodrguez
Big Data and Cognitive Computing 8 (10), 131 2024



Taxonoma web de las principales unidades militares del planeta: anlisis de contenido y etnografa digital
S Tejedor, D Rull Ribo, J Martnez, LM Romero-Rodrguez
Revista Cientfica General Jos Mara Crdova 22 (47), 531-554 2024



Dolor Lumbar en YouTube: Calidad y Valor Educativo
T Fontaines-Ruiz, LM Romero-Rodrguez, LF Reyes-Prez, ...
International and Multidisciplinary Journal of Social Sciences 13 (2), 173-192 2024



The trend towards anti-capitalist dystopia in contemporary serials: Narrative analysis of the Korean tragedy Squid Game
C Fernndez-Rodrguez, LM Romero-Rodrguez
Northern Lights: Film & Media Studies Yearbook 22 (1), 59-76 2024



Unveiling the truth: A systematic review of fact-checking and fake news research in social sciences
S Tejedor, LM Romero-Rodrguez, M Gracia-Villar
Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies 14 (2), e202427 2024



TIC, motivacin y rendimiento acadmico en educacin primaria: meta-anlisis, revisin de literatura y estado de la cuestin
F balos-Aguilera, LM Romero-Rodrguez, CB Bravo
Education in the Knowledge Society (EKS) 25, e31799-e31799 2024



Representacin meditica de la salud mental en Iberoamrica: tendencias y desafos en la era digital
LM Romero-Rodrguez, S Tejedor, J Martnez Fernndez, D Rull Rib
Ciencia e Saude Coletiva 2024



Postcensorship in Streaming: Political Alienation of Millenials and Centennials Toward Audiovisual Productions
C Fernndez-Rodrguez, LM Romero-Rodrguez, B Castillo-Abdul
Convergencia Revista de Ciencias Sociales 31, 1-29 2024



Lifestyle Eco-Influencers Advertising: Is Engagement Driven by Content or Fandom?
B Castillo-Abdul, LM Romero-Rodrguez, C Fernndez-Rodrguez
Comunicao e Sociedade 45, 1-23 2024



El especialista en comunicacin de la salud en Espaa: Competencias, destrezas y actitudes
JC Snchez Lpez, LM Romero-Rodrguez
Revista Espaola de Comunicacin en Salud 15 (1), 51-65 2024



Streaming audiovisual audiences: analysis of the feelings of efficacy, alienation and cynicism in millennials and centennials in Spain and Mexico
C Fernndez-Rodrguez, LM Romero-Rodrguez, B Puebla-Martnez
Creative Industries Journal, 1-20 2023

MOST CITED SCHOLAR PUBLICATIONS

Mediamorfosis y desinformacin en la infoesfera: Alfabetizacin meditica, digital e informacional ante los cambios de hbitos de consumo informativo
I Aguaded, LM Romero-Rodrguez
Education in the Knowledge Society 6 (1), 44-57 2015
Citations: 307



'Fact-checking' vs. 'Fakenews': Periodismo de confirmacin como recurso de la competencia meditica contra la desinformacin
G Lotero-Echeverri, LM Romero-Rodrguez, MA Prez-Rodrguez
Index.Comunicacin 8 (2), 295-316 2018
Citations: 218



Dimensions and Indicators of the Information Quality in Digital Media
LM Romero-Rodrguez, P de-Casas-Moreno, A Torres-Toukoumidis
Comunicar 24 (49), 91-100 2016
Citations: 148



Modelo Terico Integrado de Gamificacin en Ambientes E-Learning (E-MIGA)
A Torres-Toukoumidis, LM Romero-Rodrguez, MA Prez-Rodrguez, ...
Revista Complutense de Educacin 29 (1), 129-145 2018
Citations: 132



Consumo informativo y competencias digitales de estudiantes de periodismo de Colombia, Per y Venezuela
LM Romero-Rodrguez, I Aguaded
Convergencia Revista de Ciencias Sociales, 35-57 2016
Citations: 132



Gamification in MOOCs: Engagement Application Test in Energy Sustainability Courses
LM Romero-Rodriguez, MS Ramirez-Montoya, JR Valenzuela Gonzalez
IEEE Access 7, 32093-32101 2019
Citations: 124



Ludificacin y educacin para la ciudadana. Revisin de las experiencias significativas
LM Romero-Rodrguez, Torres-Toukoumidis, I Aguaded
Educar 53 (1), 109-128 2017
Citations: 111



Ludificacin y sus posibilidades en el entorno de blended learning: revisin documental
Torres Toukoumidis, LM Romero-Rodrguez, MA Prez-Rodrguez
RIED: revista iberoamericana de educacin a distancia 21 (1), 95-111 2018
Citations: 109



Micronarrativas en Instagram: Anlisis del storytelling autobiogrfico y de la proyeccin de identidades de los universitarios del mbito de la Comunicacin
P De-Casas-Moreno, S Tejedor-Calvo, LM Romero-Rodrguez
Prisma Social, 40-57 2018
Citations: 100



Representacin discursiva y lenguaje de los 'youtubers' espaoles: Estudio de caso de los 'gamers' ms populares
S Rego Rey, LM Romero-Rodrguez
Index.Comunicacin 6 (1), 197-224 2016
Citations: 88



Valoracin y evaluacin de los Aprendizajes Basados en Juegos (GBL) en contextos e-learning
A Torres-Toukoumidis, MS Ramirez-Montoya, LM Romero-Rodrguez
EKS (Education in the Knowledge Society) 19 (4), 109-128 2018
Citations: 86



Desarrollo de habilidades de lectura a travs de los videojuegos: Estado del arte
A Torres-Toukoumidis, L Romero-Rodrguez, A Prez-Rodrguez, S Bjrk
Ocnos Revista de Estudios sobre Lectura 15 (2), 37-49 2016
Citations: 83



Media competencies of university professors and students. Comparison of levels in Spain, Portugal, Brazil and Venezuela / Las competencias mediticas de profesores y
LM Romero-Rodrguez, P Contreras-Pulido, MA Prez-Rodrguez
Cultura y Educacin 31 (2) 2019
Citations: 82



Aprender jugando. La gamificacin en el aula
A Torres-Toukoumidis, LM Romero-Rodrguez
Educar para los nuevos medios. Claves para el desarrollo de la competencia 2018
Citations: 79



Pragmtica de la desinformacin: Estratagemas e incidencia de la calidad informativa de los medios
LM Romero Rodrguez
Universidad de Huelva 2014
Citations: 76



Learning Leaders: Teachers or Youtubers? Participatory Culture and STEM Competencies in Italian Secondary School Students
J Gil-Quintana, V Malvasi, B Castillo-Abdul, LM Romero-Rodrguez
Sustainability 12 (18) 2020
Citations: 75



Gamificacin en Iberoamrica: Experiencias desde la Comunicacin y la Educacin
Torres-Toukoumidis, LM Romero-Rodrguez
2018
Citations: 68



La comunicacin en el escenario digital. Actualidad, retos y prospectivas
LM Romero-Rodrguez, D Rivera-Rogel
2019
Citations: 67



Analfanautas y la cuarta pantalla: Ausencia de infodietas y de competencias mediticas e informacionales en jvenes universitarios latinoamericanos
LM Romero-Rodrguez, Torres-Toukoumidis, MA Prez-Rodrguez, ...
Fonseca, Journal of Communication, 11-25 2016
Citations: 67



Kid influencers in Spain: understanding the themes they address and preteens' engagement with their YouTube channels
B Castillo-Abdul, LM Romero-Rodrguez, A Larrea-Ayala
Heliyon 6, e05056 2020
Citations: 65