3.1: Misinformation, disinformation, and fakes
- Page ID
- 328971
\( \newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \)
\( \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash {#1}}} \)
\( \newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)
( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\)
\( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\)
\( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\)
\( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\)
\( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)
\( \newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\)
\( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)
\( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\)
\( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\)
\( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\)
\( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\)
\( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\)
\( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\)
\( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\)
\( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\AA}{\unicode[.8,0]{x212B}}\)
\( \newcommand{\vectorA}[1]{\vec{#1}} % arrow\)
\( \newcommand{\vectorAt}[1]{\vec{\text{#1}}} % arrow\)
\( \newcommand{\vectorB}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \)
\( \newcommand{\vectorC}[1]{\textbf{#1}} \)
\( \newcommand{\vectorD}[1]{\overrightarrow{#1}} \)
\( \newcommand{\vectorDt}[1]{\overrightarrow{\text{#1}}} \)
\( \newcommand{\vectE}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash{\mathbf {#1}}}} \)
\( \newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \)
\( \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash {#1}}} \)
\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)Misinformation
Misinformation is the general term for false information whether intentional or not. There are several subcategories of misinformation, including disinformation, fake news, and deep fakes.
Misinformation is spread in several ways. People mistake it for read information and pass it along to their friends or family. Often people share it on social media, usually with good intentions. They see or hear something they think everyone should know, so they share it without checking its credibility. It can also be produced or shared with the intention of misleading or manipulating.
There are a few ways misinformation can be spread.
- One way misinformation is spread is deliberately creating false information and posting it to spread lies or create division.
- Another way misinformation is spread is “stolen satire.” This is when someone tweaks a satirical or humorous story into a serious one that seems real. For example, sharing an "Onion" story as real news.
- Misinformation could be “imposter content” where someone pretends to be a famous person or use a product to spread false ideas.
- Then there is “manipulated content” where some text or an image has been changed with imaging software or AI. The technology used for all of these kinds of misinformation is getting more sophisticated, making it difficult to tell when it is false.
Disinformation is the intentional dissemination of false information. This might be politically biased, purposely misleading, propaganda, or information that has been changed to contain the opposite meaning of the original. Disinformation also includes things like fake websites, conspiracy theories, pseudoscience, and biased misinterpretation of facts. There is also propaganda, clickbait, and companies that seem to be providing information when they are really selling something.
Disinformation can be very deceptive. Even fact checkers have a difficult time determining fact from false information sometimes.
Fake news
Fake news is completely wrong “news” created to mislead people. This kind of news can be sensational, contentious, or emotionally charged to get people agitated. It is often spread on social media and used to divide people into sides. We heard a lot about fake news in the 2016 election.
Deep fakes are relatively new development. They are digitally enhanced media and becoming increasingly difficult to identify. They can occur in the forms of images, videos, and audio media. Faked images can be harmful, even destructive. Innocent people may have their face put into a photo causing them to look bad. These types of images can cause many problems and ruin reputations. Being able to discern whether an image or sound is real can take a lot of practice and know-how.
During the COVID outbreak, there was not only a pandemic, but an infodemic as well. This term was coined by David Rothkopf of the Washington Post during the early 2000’s SARS outbreak. An infodemic occurs when information spreads so fast and far that it is difficult to know the truth. During COVID there was a medical infodemic about how disease is spread, vaccinations, masks, and the seriousness of COVID. It caused mistrust of health professionals, undermined the national health response, and sometimes led to foolish behaviors that caused more intense illness or even death.
Fake news can be extremely difficult to recognize, especially on social media. A study at the Stanford Graduate School of Education found that middle and high school students had surprisingly low abilities to recognize fake news. They lacked the “news literacy” to distinguish social media ads from legitimate news stories. After reading an article on financial planning, they were unable to correctly determine that the information was not accurate. They didn’t know where to look or what to look for to tell the difference. (The article is linked below in the Note- Added resources.)
When you need to include research for a school assignment, you will need to find sources you can trust. As a scholar, you want to show good ethos by doing your best to use accurate sources. So, you will need to know how to determine whether a source is credible and how to find the best information possible. Without being able to determine whether information is appropriate for your use, you might report fake news, use other misinformation, or base an argument on the wrong conclusions.
Link to article: “Standford Researchers Find Students Have Trouble Judging Credibility Information Online”
Information literacy is from The News Literacy Project Fact sheet linked here: Misinformation fact sheet
Works Cited
Donald, Brooke. "Stanford researchers find students have trouble judging the credibility of information online." Stanford Graduate School of
Education, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, https://ed.stanford.edu/.
"In Brief, Misinformation." News Literacy Project, Newslit.org, Washington DCm https://newslit.org/.