Misinformation

What is Misinformation? 

Misinformation is a general term used to describe false information. Misinformation is often spread unintentionally because it is believed to be true. Like gossip, it has the power to deceive and influence others, even though the source of the information may have intended no harm.

Disinformation is false or distorted information that is deliberately spread in order to hide the truth. An example of disinformation is a politician spreading unfounded rumours and lies about an opponent. 

Fake news is a term that refers to any kind of false news story that is created to fool or deceive its audience. "Fake news" can be a hoax or satire, it might be clickbait on social media, and it is often so well disguised, it can be hard to identify. It has also been used as a label by politicians to discredit legitimate news sources so it is wise to be suspicious when a politician uses "fake news" as an accusation against a news organization.

Image Source: "The fin de siècle newspaper proprietor" by Frederick Burr Opper is licensed under CC0 1.0 / Cropped from original

Misinformation Lexicon 

Definitions for some of the most common types of misinformation and disinformation.

Astroturfing

"Organized activity that is intended to create a false impression of a widespread, spontaneously arising, grassroots movement in support of or in opposition to something (such as a political policy) but that is in reality initiated and controlled by a concealed group or organization (such as a corporation)" (Merriam-Webster, n.d.)

 

Bots

"Bots that collect the information are essentially pieces of computer code that can be used to automatically respond when given the right stimulus. For example, a bot can be programmed to search the internet to find particular words...makes note of the location of those words and does something with them" (Burkhardt, 2017, p. 15)

 

Clickbait

A sensational heading or title designed to lure readers to click on a hyperlink which leads to unreliable information or content unrelated to the heading (Merriam-Webster, n.d.; Smith, 2014).

 

Conspiracy theory

"A hypothesis that attributes a specific event or phenomenon to some form of secret activity or plot, one usually orchestrated by powerful entities or individuals" (Meyer, 2013, p. 694).

 

Echo chamber

"An environment in which a person encounters only beliefs or opinions that coincide with their own, so that their existing views are reinforced and alternative ideas are not considered" (Echo chamber, n.d.).

 

Fact-checking

Validating whether a source is true or false. For example, one could compare a selected news with other sources (Burkhardt, 2017).

 

Fake news

Falls into two streams: (1) pseudo news presented as if newsworthy (e.g. celebrity gossip) or (2) falsehoods that appear as if true (Bartlett, 2017).

 

Filter bubbles

Are common in social media where users are only shown information that aligns with his or her interests (Burkhardt, 2017).

 

Hoax websites

Published sites intended to misinform people (List of fake news websites, n.d.).

 

Propaganda

A form of disinformation with the intent of political persuasion. It tends to be one-sided, emotionally charged, and relentless in scale and effort.

 

Pseudoscience

“A belief or process which masquerades as science in an attempt to claim a legitimacy which it would not otherwise be able to achieve on its own terms” (Lower, 2013).

 

Satire or comedy

Misinformation that is created for the purpose of humour. Stories published by The Onion or The Beaverton can seem very realistic, even if bizarre so be aware.

 

Trolls

A person "whose real intention(s) is/are to cause disruption and/or trigger or exacerbate conflict for the purposes of their own amusement" (Hardaker, 2010, p. 237; Phillips, 2015, p. 17).