2.1: Defining Misinformation and Disinformation

Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): I can't believe we're marching for facts! - Fridays For Future Demonstration; Bonn, Germany, 2021-03-19 
(Unsplash free-to-use license, Mika Baumeister)

Most religions and professional organizations have clearly defined codes of ethics that either explicitly forbid or at least discourage telling lies. It is generally agreed upon in human civilization that being untruthful is a negative character trait that may diminish an individual's or organization's reputation. 

Whether inaccurate information is shared because of ineptitude or out of malicious intent, it is up to all of us who live in media ecosystems where vast flows of information pass by us every day to be wary. If regular media consumers should beware, media professionals should be vigilant servants to the truth, as well as we can know it. 

What makes misinformation and disinformation so concerning that they warrant a prime spot as the first full chapter in this text? They are having an effect on global politics. This is troubling for people who take seriously the responsibility of communicating to mass audiences.

In media industries that have largely transitioned from business models based on selling physical copies of content to business models related to providing news and information services, being reliable sources of news and persuasive information amid chaotic digital streams of information will likely be essential for industry professionals moving forward.

Journalists, for example, may be expected not just to file reliable news stories but to serve as fact checkers helping people separate fact from fiction on social media platforms. In an age of artificial intelligence (AI), fact checking is expanding from analyzing mostly textual information to analyzing the accuracy of photos, videos, and voices.

The threat of AI fakery is so great, governments and tech companies have issued warnings during election time. More detailed discussions are shared in the last sections of this chapter on the social and political implications of misinformation and disinformation as well as the economic opportunities presented by the need for human information verification.

First, readers need crystal clear definitions of accuracy, misinformation and disinformation.

Definition: Accuracy

Accuracy is a condition or quality of information that it is correct and as precise as possible.

Providing accurate information and demonstrating that it is accurate are different tasks, but above all else media professionals should be accurate in their reporting, advertising, and advocacy. Being accurate in media writing can be as basic as spelling an interview subject's name correctly or accurately estimating the size of a crowd at a local pancake breakfast. It can also involve covering complex scientific studies without inaccurately summing up the findings and results. 

At a basic level, communicating accurately means keeping straight the facts and figures, names and dates, addresses, and place names in news reports, avoiding making false claims in advertisements, and presenting accurate and truthful, though often strategically prioritized, information in public relations declarations. Basic accuracy is constantly expected of media writing professionals.

This text argues, though, that it is not enough to be accurate. In an environment where misinformation and disinformation abound, mass media professionals also have to be prepared to attack both, particularly online.

Scholars have been concerned about the veracity of widely available information on the internet since the early days of mainstream internet adoption, i.e. the early days of consumer dial-up internet. If future media professionals are going to go to battle to preserve and promote factual information in chaotic networked information spaces, they need to know the enemy.

Definition: Misinformation

Misinformation is partially or completely incorrect information.

Misinformation can be created by accident or by negligence, but just as with disinformation it can have negative effects, and misinformation is known to be spread rapidly and not just by bots. The prefix "mis" simply means "wrong." Sharing wrong information is a professional failure. It is a failure that, in the age of social media and AI-generated content, is incredibly easy to do. Often, the more compelling a piece of misinformation is, the more likely it is to be spread.

Story Time

An example of misinformation reaching millions of audience members is when National Public Radio reported that former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was killed in a mass shooting at a community event in Tucson, Arizona in January of 2011. The gunman injured Giffords and 18 others, but she was not killed. The journalists covering this story were misinformed, and yet they shared the inaccurate news with followers on the radio, on social media, and on a news blog. The author of this text personally knew some of the journalists involved in this unfortunate situation, and they made the error in good faith. They attempted to double-source the information, but their sources were wrong. It was widely assumed Congresswoman Giffords would die from her critical wounds, and yet she did not. She recovered over time and is now a gun control advocate married to U.S. Senator from Arizona Mark Kelly. Misinformation that fits our assumptions is often a tantalizing invitation to make an embarrassing, if not necessarily career ending, public error.

Though both can be harmful, disinformation is more sinister than misinformation.

Definition: Disinformation

Disinformation is false information purposefully created and disseminated to mislead audiences.

Media professionals, whether they work in journalism, advertising, public relations, or a related field must be on the lookout for disinformation. Organized, well-funded, targeted, and often successful disinformation campaigns on social media are now a regular aspect of politics in all sorts of systems, including democracies, authoritarian states, and states in chaos, that is, nations with active, widespread warfare happening within their borders.

Disinformation campaigns are often masked as regular social media posts from concerned, politically active citizens. Disinformation may be privately funded, funded by political groups, or even funded by one nation as a means of attacking another, although the study cited in the previous paragraph concerns only internal disinformation campaigns. 

Reporters Without Borders has a comprehensive breakdown of types of disinformation. The list is included here in its entirety. Note how disinformation, like many forms of lying, has some basis in fact but with manipulations applied or false information added in order to mislead.

Seven "Sins" of Disinformation 

The information in this box is quoted from Reporters Sans Frontières, a.k.a. Reporters Without Borders with minor edits for style.

The following are ranked in order of harmfulness:

1. Fabricated content: entirely false news content, designed to deceive and do harm. While the world may have laughed after an AI-generated image of Pope Francis wearing a Balenciaga coat went viral in 2023, influential figures are often at the centre of more serious instances of fabricated content, such as false reports in 2016 that the Pope had endorsed Donald Trump’s candidacy in the U.S. presidential election.

2. Manipulated content: genuine information or imagery that is manipulated to deceive the reader. Edited images can spread especially quickly: for example, a photoshopped picture of a pro-Beijing Hong Kong politician carrying an American flag surrounded by pro-democracy protesters sparked backlash from his supporters. 

3. Imposter content: genuine sources that are impersonated to fool the reader and/or discredit the supposed source. This tactic was used during the 2017 Kenyan elections, when videos and reports mimicking well-known international news outlets such as CNN and the BBC shared false information, including inaccurate polling data. 

4. False context: genuine content shared with false contextual information, such as video clips that showed U.S. President Biden stating he “sold a lot of state secrets” without indicating that the remark was a joke. False context also includes sharing old content under the guise of new information, like an outdated South African weather report warning of low temperatures and snowfall that has repeatedly been circulated as if it was current. 

5. Misleading content: misleading use of information to frame an issue or individual in a certain narrative. For instance, some news articles have misrepresented scientific data related to COVID-19, such as a report that used a study showing vaccines had a minimal impact on overall mortality to discredit their efficacy against the coronavirus, when the actual purpose of the study was to examine whether vaccines had any effect on non-COVID-related causes of death. 

6. False connection: headlines, visuals, and captions that contradict or do not support the news content. Sometimes, even mainstream media outlets use this tactic, such as reports that make connections between consuming certain foods and longer life, shorter life, or both! 

7. Satire or parody: has no intention to cause harm, but has the potential to fool the reader who does not check references. For example, popular American satire website The Onion, well-known for its political parodies, has still occasionally had its claims mistaken for truth. 

Source: RSF Resource for Journalists' Safety

Disinformation is sophisticated. Often, only parts of images or portions of information are altered. Faking entire reputable news sites and filling the false pages with disinformation is a common tactic.

Often, social media accounts will be built by sharing innocuous information and then "activated" to take part in disinformation campaigns. 

It takes time and resources to create a disinformation campaign. A good question for media professionals to consider is why individuals or nations might wish to "invest" resources in this type of communication. What is their expected return?

Some of the examples in the RSF list above might more accurately be called misinformation. It is likely that RSF has decided not to make the distinction because both types of information are misleading and worth watching out for.

Writing Prompts

1. Identify which of the seven "sins" listed above are truly disinformation and which would more accurately be defined as misinformation, according to the definitions used in this chapter. Briefly explain each choice.

2. In three paragraphs or less, explain why an individual or a nation might spend their resources to carry out a disinformation campaign. What do you think they expect to be their "return on investment?"

Future media professionals are encouraged to choose their battles when combating disinformation and misinformation online. The adage, "don't feed the trolls" holds true much of the time. Some false statements are made simply to get a rise out of others on social media or in comments sections. These can often be left alone rather than to fan the flames of disinformation.

The job is not to correct everyone who is wrong on the internet. It is to identify when mass audiences are being misinformed or in danger of being misinformed and to communicate clearly the most accurate possible version of events, complete with evidence and a strategy for robustly promoting the accurate story. One who has the skills to verify and clarify information but no resources to disseminate an accurate story is at risk of toiling in futility.

Media organizations should boost accurate posts, and professional communicators should form networks of their own if they are to reach mass audiences in ways that compete with professional disinformation campaigns.

Above all, media writers are encouraged to "first do no harm" by not adding to the mis/disinformation phenomenon themselves. Share with caution or be left apologizing for spreading inaccurate information to mass audiences who demand that professionals be experts in discerning truth from lies.

In the future, AI-generated influencers, videos, photos, articles, etc. will likely make misinformation and disinformation even more enticing to share and even easier to disseminate. Part of joining the fight for accuracy is to anticipate disinformation strategies and common misinformation mishaps and to be skeptical of information that looks too good not to share.

One constant of successful disinformation and widespread misinformation is that the information appears to be interesting. Most mass communication professionals strive to create and amplify content that audiences will care about. Thus, professionals will always be at risk of sharing inaccurate information.

Misinformation and disinformation work because they fill a need. Similar to junk food that offers less nutritional value and may actually harm your health, these types of information should be avoided.

The best policy for consumers and media pros is to develop and nurture a healthy skepticism about all new information and to practice multiple types of checks before sharing information. It is better to be right than to be atop a trending topic.