Newspapers and alternative social networks in the Fediverse: a study of the presence of digital native and legacy media on Mastodon

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ABSTRACT

Introduction: This study analyses the presence of newspapers on Mastodon, the most popular social platform in the Fediverse and an alternative to X (Twitter) in this ecosystem of decentralized and interoperable networks. Methodology: A subsample of newspapers (n=20) and accounts (n=28) on Mastodon was obtained from a sample (n=38) of digital native and legacy media in Spain. Official and unofficial, bots and non-automated, active and inactive accounts, instances where they are hosted, and links to Mastodon on media websites were identified. The date the accounts were created were also identified to check if they appeared before or after Elon Musk's purchase of Twitter, which boosted Mastodon's popularity. Results: A total of 13 official accounts (10 native and 3 legacy) were spotted. None of them worked on owned instances. Also, a total of 15 unofficial accounts (9 legacy and 6 native) were identified and they connected via RSS by Mastodon instances administrators. Legacy media show a higher proportion of active accounts than digital natives. The proportion of automated accounts is high for both categories. A 'Musk effect' is observed in the account's creation. Only elDiario.es and El Salto (digital natives) offer links on their websites. El País (legacy) has the oldest account, and El Salto is the one that shows the greatest commitment to Mastodon. Discussion: The analyzed media do not take advantage of the full potential of the technological sovereignty provided by Mastodon. Conclusions: The template used, and the results open up new lines for academic research on a social platform (Mastodon) and an ecosystem (Fediverse) barely explored in the journalistic field.

Keywords: Mastodon; Fediverse; alternative social networks; decentralization; Twitter; Elon Musk; news media.

RESUMEN

Introducción: Esta investigación analiza la presencia de periódicos en Mastodon, la plataforma social más popular del Fediverso y alternativa a X (Twitter) en este ecosistema de redes descentralizadas e interoperables. Metodología: De una muestra (n=38) de nativos digitales y matriciales de España se obtuvo una submuestra de periódicos (n=20) y cuentas (n=28) en Mastodon. Identificamos cuentas oficiales y no oficiales, bots y no automatizadas, activas e inactivas, instancias en las que se alojan y accesos directos en los sitios web de los medios. También se identificó la fecha de creación de las cuentas para comprobar si aparecieron antes...