Administradoras del ruido: prácticas de verificación discreta y gestión de la desinformación entre estudiantes peruanas

The circulation of disinformation is a structural feature of young people’s informational habitat in Latin America. This study aimed to explore how Peruvian female university students confront disinformation and what fact-checking strategies they develop. Six in-person focus groups were conducted with 36 Communication students (aged 18-21) and analyzed through thematic coding. Findings show that disinformation is perceived as an inevitable part of their digital diet and managed through situational adaptation processes that generate ambiguities between confidence and vulnerability, credibility and consumption, and tensions in family and peer relationships. The Bad News game, as a media literacy strategy, was received with interest but also raised ethical concerns about producing false content. We conclude that students deploy discreet and silent verification practices that, remain invisible in conventional indicators of digital citizenship.