Abstract

In recent years, disinformation is a process have involved different elements: the media environment, the digital relationships, the social media platforms, the role of algorithms and social processes. This complex situation shapes the way in which informations are consumed and diffused in the current media ecosystem. For this reason, we need to use the computational social science approach with concepts as the media construction of reality and the information overload to analyze in a deep way this evolving landscape. As an example of this new media ecosystem, we analyze the Blue Whale challenge, a very controversial story about a series of mass teen suicide that would spread from Russian social media to the entire world. By focusing on socio-semiotical, computational and social elements, we observe that despite the doubts about the story, a mix of algorithms effects and moral panic let the story be perceived as true. To avoid these effects, we need to come back the deontology of journalism, ethically and methodologically.