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Misinformation

Overview

Physical and digital media! 

Seven common forms of information disorder include: 

  • Satire or parody has no intention to cause harm, but it has the potential to fool others
  • Misleading content involves misleading use of information to frame an individual or issue
  • Imposter content pops up when genuine sources are impersonated
  • Fabricated content occurs when new content is 100% false and is designed to deceive and harm
  • False connection happens when headlines, visuals, or captions do not support the provided content
  • False context appears when genuine content is shared with false contextual information
  • Manipulated content takes shape when genuine information or imagery is manipulated to deceive 

                                               A chat displays 7 forms of information disorder with relevant symbols to represent each. From left to right, top to bottom, they are: satire or parody, misleading content, imposter content, fabricated content, false connection, false content, and manipulated content.
7 Categories of Information Disorder. Credit: Claire Wardle, 2017.

"How to Spot Fake News" is a resource to review.

Online Spaces

Deepfakes "are fake, digitally manipulated videos or audio files ... typically featuring a person’s likeness and voice in a situation that did not actually occur." 

Cheap fakes (which was, and could be, called "photoshopping") work like deepfakes, except they are created by humans and with low-tech editing capabilities. AI use is not extensively used for cheap fakes. 

Generative AI is a type of artificial intelligence that uses machine learning to create new content, such as images, text, video, music, and more.

Reference

Eliot, L. (2024, June 25). Explaining deepfakes versus cheap fakes and the role of generative AI. Forbes.

DEPICT Manipulation Framework

This framework is also known as the Six Degrees of Manipulation.

Discrediting

  • Attacking the critics (journalists, fact-checkers, etc.) who target misinformation producers to deflect attention away from accusations.

Emotion

  • Manipulating people's emotions to get them riled up to share misinformation (for instance, using moral or emotional words in a post).
  • Often regarding to other groups or hot-button social, political, economic, and scientific issues.

Polarization

  • Attempting to drive people away from the political center and increase the gap between two groups (for example, liberals and conservatives).
  • "False amplification" is one tactic involving bots who reshare automated messages with polarizing content and engage in polarizing behavior to generate a flood of discourse on a contested issue.
  • Two dimensions: polarization over specific policy issues and "affective polarization" (the tendency for groups to dislike each other on a personal level)

Impersonation

  • Appearing as a real person or account by mimicking their appearance; can include celebrities, politicians, or experts. 
  • Posing as a legitimate organization, news outlet, or account without using any journalistic norms or credentials. 

Conspiracy

  • Leveraging real events to cast doubt on mainstream and official explanations
  • Featuring topics people care about, like politics, societal events, etc.

Trolling

  • Using bait (emotional, inflammatory material to provoke responses or manipulate public perception)

Reference

van der Linden, S. (2023). Foolproof: Why misinformation infects our minds and how to build immunity. W.W. Norton & Company.