Monkeypox, Disinformation, and Fact-Checking: A Review of Ten Iberoamerican Countries in the Context of Public Health Emergency

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

The paper deals with the spread of misinformation of various kinds related to monkeypox disease during the year 2022. The work done seems interesting and useful. However, the article presents problems when reading it, mainly because everything indicates that it has been translated automatically with a translator and no due effort has been made to check that the translation has been correct. Some of the problems with the article are the following:

- In the abstract, and in some other places, Maldita and Bolivia Verifica are referred to as verification agencies, causing possible confusion as it could be understood that they are government agencies, when this is not the case.
- The quotation that begins on line 64 should be enclosed in quotation marks.
- In line 82 there is a quote with an incorrect format.
- In the list starting on line 220 I get the feeling that some media names have been translated into English, which is strange and confusing (e.g. "Salud con lupa" does not come with its real name).
- Similarly, sometimes "Maldita" has been translated as "Cursed".
- Different terms are sometimes used supposedly for the same thing, such as "fact-checking agency", "de fact-checking agency" and "de facto-checking agency", giving the impression that this is a confusion of terms.
- The phrase "The data collected for this study reach 82 denied" in line 291 is not understood.
- I do not see the need for the word "monkeypox" to be always in bold typeface.

As I have commented before, the paper needs a revision of the English, because it seems that it comes directly from an automatic translation, without the authors having revised the result.

Author Response

Dear Reviewers,

We would like to express our sincere gratitude for your dedication and valuable time spent on improving our paper. Your insightful comments and suggestions have greatly contributed to enhancing the quality of our work. We appreciate your commitment to fostering excellence in academic research.

We have carefully reviewed your feedback and made several revisions accordingly. Firstly, we have ensured that the term "monkeypox" appears in bold throughout the revised version, as requested. We apologize for the oversight in the previous version and are confident that this correction has been accurately implemented in the current revision.

Furthermore, we have addressed the issue of an incorrect citation and have meticulously adjusted the numbering of the bibliography to ensure accuracy and consistency. We understand the importance of precise referencing and have taken necessary measures to rectify any errors in this regard.

Additionally, we have rectified any misinterpreted translations by replacing the inaccurately translated words with their correct equivalents. Our commitment to maintaining linguistic accuracy is paramount, and we appreciate your attention to detail in identifying these discrepancies.

To improve the clarity and comprehensiveness of our paper, we have also incorporated additional information into the figure titles. This enhancement aims to provide readers with a more thorough understanding of the content and context of the figures presented.

We are pleased to inform you that we have attached a higher-quality version of Figure 1 to this cover letter. The improved resolution and clarity will facilitate a better examination and interpretation of the corresponding data.

Lastly, we have revised the wording of the abstract to avoid any implications that the two agencies mentioned are government entities. We understand the need for precision and neutrality in our language choices, and we appreciate your guidance in ensuring that our paper adheres to these principles.

Once again, we would like to express our deepest gratitude for your meticulous review, insightful feedback, and dedication to advancing our research. We eagerly anticipate any further comments or modifications you may deem necessary. Please rest assured that we will promptly address any additional feedback or concerns you may have.

Thank you for your continued support and commitment to academic excellence.

Francisco Javier Cristófol, Ph.D.

Universidad Loyola Andalucía

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 2 Report

The study reviewed the disinformation and fact-checking activity of 10 Ibero-American countries during the outbreak of monkeypox in 2022. Based on content analysis. The study shows that Spain and Bolivia are with the highest number of debunking. The preferred format for disinformation is image-text. The study explored the influence of Covid-19 hoaxes over disinformation of disease such as monkeypox in the context of public health emergency. And the internationalization capacity of scientific hoaxes is demonstrated. There are some minor parts needs to be fixed, before it is considered for publication:

1. The resolution of Figure 1 is too low.

2. The captions of Figures are too short. Each figure should provide enough information for the audience to understand how the figure is made and what's the information it brings without reading the main body of the paper. 

Author Response

Dear Reviewers,

We would like to express our sincere gratitude for your dedication and valuable time spent on improving our paper. Your insightful comments and suggestions have greatly contributed to enhancing the quality of our work. We appreciate your commitment to fostering excellence in academic research.

We have carefully reviewed your feedback and made several revisions accordingly. Firstly, we have ensured that the term "monkeypox" appears in bold throughout the revised version, as requested. We apologize for the oversight in the previous version and are confident that this correction has been accurately implemented in the current revision.

Furthermore, we have addressed the issue of an incorrect citation and have meticulously adjusted the numbering of the bibliography to ensure accuracy and consistency. We understand the importance of precise referencing and have taken necessary measures to rectify any errors in this regard.

Additionally, we have rectified any misinterpreted translations by replacing the inaccurately translated words with their correct equivalents. Our commitment to maintaining linguistic accuracy is paramount, and we appreciate your attention to detail in identifying these discrepancies.

To improve the clarity and comprehensiveness of our paper, we have also incorporated additional information into the figure titles. This enhancement aims to provide readers with a more thorough understanding of the content and context of the figures presented.

We are pleased to inform you that we have attached a higher-quality version of Figure 1 to this cover letter. The improved resolution and clarity will facilitate a better examination and interpretation of the corresponding data.

Lastly, we have revised the wording of the abstract to avoid any implications that the two agencies mentioned are government entities. We understand the need for precision and neutrality in our language choices, and we appreciate your guidance in ensuring that our paper adheres to these principles.

Once again, we would like to express our deepest gratitude for your meticulous review, insightful feedback, and dedication to advancing our research. We eagerly anticipate any further comments or modifications you may deem necessary. Please rest assured that we will promptly address any additional feedback or concerns you may have.

Thank you for your continued support and commitment to academic excellence.

Francisco Javier Cristófol, Ph.D.

Universidad Loyola Andalucía

Author Response File: Author Response.docx