Strategic Use of Disinformation Terminology in Political Communication: Media Narratives of Delegitimisation

Disinformation has become established as a strategic tool in political communication, with the capacity to erode public trust and undermine democratic quality. In an information environment increasingly mediated by artificial intelligence, it is essential to understand how the media articulates disinformation discursively. This study analyses, using a mixed design of quantitative and qualitative content analysis, 178 articles published in the five main Spanish digital newspapers (El País, El Mundo, La Vanguardia, El Español and Eldiario.es), comparing the treatment of two cases of alleged political corruption. The results show significant differences in volume, journalistic genre, tone, framing, and use of disinformation terminology, confirming that the media do not act as neutral transmitters but rather as discursive actors that use disinformation lexicon for the purposes of attack, defence, or ideological legitimisation. There is also a predominance of emotional tones and rhetorical strategies that favour polarisation.