Fake News, the Disinformation Verification Gap, and Circular Economy Gross Value Added: Evidence from Eastern European EU Countries
Author:Bouazza Elamine Zemri
JEL:D83, Q56, O33, C23, C51.
DOI:10.24818/EA/2026/73/1175
Keywords:Disinformation verification gap, circular economy gross value added, fake news, digital resilience, Eastern European EU countries, circular economy.
Abstract:
This study investigates whether a wider disinformation verification gap (DVG) is associated with weaker gross value added (GVA) in circular economy sectors. Empirically, the analysis relies on a balanced two-period panel of 11 Eastern European EU countries for 2021 and 2023 and applies a first-difference OLS specification. The results suggest a negative but sample-sensitive association between the DVG and circular economy GVA. However, the DVG coefficient is statistically insignificant in the full sample and becomes more meaningful only when one influential country observation is excluded. The evidence should therefore be interpreted as exploratory rather than conclusive. The analysis also considers skills-based non-verification as an additional channel through which digital fragility may be linked to economic performance, although this channel is not supported by the estimated results. The study contributes in three respects. First, it develops a clear and measurable macro-level indicator of misinformation-related vulnerability. Second, it links fake news and verification behaviour to a concrete economic outcome rather than to attitudes or intentions alone. Third, it connects the literature on digital misinformation, digital resilience, and circular economy performance within a harmonised cross-country framework. Overall, the findings suggest that the digital information environment may represent an underexplored dimension of sustainability-oriented economic performance, but its economic relevance requires further testing with richer data and longer panels.