LibGuides: Information and Media Literacy: Misinformation & More

Misinformation & More

Loosely defined, misinformation is false information, no matter whether the creator or sharer of that information intended to mislead or not.

Misinformation can include just about anything: online or print articles, statistics, social media posts, images/infographics, or other formats.
Misinformation can result from out-of-context quotations, images, video, or statistics.
Misinformation can result from previously published errors and slow retractions.
Misinformation often results from sharing before verifying.
Misinformation can result from rumors.
Misinformation can happen when a parody or satire is taken to be literally true.

"7 Types of Mis- and Disinformation" by First Draft is licensed under CC BY 4.0 DEED.

Why People Fall for MisInformation
"In 1901, David Hänig published research that led to what we know today as the taste map: an illustration that divides the tongue into four separate areas. It has since been published in textbooks and newspapers. There is just one problem: the map is wrong. So how do misconceptions like this spread, and what makes a fake fact so easy to believe? Joseph Isaac dives into the world of misinformation. [Directed by CUB Animation, narrated by Addison Anderson, music by József Iszlai]." (description from TED-Ed website)
How Viral Deceptions Spread - FactCheck.org
"In this video, SciCheck reviews a case study of how misinformation spreads online...The video looks at how InfoWars, a conspiracy theory website, distorted the facts of an order by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that mandates face masks be worn on public transportation...Contrary to the InfoWars report, the CDC order doesn’t require that individuals wear two masks. CDC guidance issued with the order does say that cloth masks should be made of at least two layers. But the InfoWars report was picked up — word for word, in some cases — by three other websites in two days, spreading the misinformation across the internet." (description from FactCheck's YouTube site)
Flawed research not retracted fast enough to prevent spread of misinformation, study finds
Article from University of Michigan’s School of Information

Misinformation and disinformation have a lot in common:

"7 Types of Mis- and Disinformation" by First Draft is licensed under CC BY 4.0 DEED.

The biggest difference between misinformation and disinformation can be seen in the intent: while misinformation is distributed without intent to confuse or mislead, disinformation is spread with knowledge of its incorrectness and intention. First Draft's infographic offers several possible reasons for disinformation including provocation, political motivation, financial gain, or propaganda.

"Misinformation Matrix" by First Draft is licensed under CC BY 4.0 DEED.

America's Cyber Defense Agency on Disinformation & Election Security
"CISA reduces risk to U.S. critical infrastructure by building resilience to foreign influence operations and disinformation. Through these efforts, CISA helps the American people understand the scope and scale of these activities targeting election infrastructure and enables them to take action to mitigate associated risks." (description from U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency [CISA] website)
Countering Disinformation
"The UN General Assembly has expressed concern over the proliferation of disinformation and has welcomed the efforts of the Secretary-General to promote international cooperation in countering disinformation. In response to that, the Secretary-General has submitted a report based on information and best practices shared by States, UN entities and others on countering disinformation." (description from the United Nations website)
Troll Farms
"Troll farms fool and misinform in a big way." (description from the News Literacy Project website)
Stanford on Addressing Disinformation
"Stanford scholars from across the social sciences are studying the threats disinformation poses to democracy. Here is some of their research."

Types of Mis/Dis/Malinformation

Considering the general difficulties with fact-checking and information verification online, the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) software such as Chat GPT adds an additional complication. AI generates text and images online based on its programming. Due to either coding flaws or bad actors, some of this content (but not all) contains misinformation and disinformation. Because computers and AI naturally are able to generate output faster than humans, even some misinformation can still represent a lot of content. Naturally, this makes information consumers nervous about a viral spread of AI-generated misinformation and disinformation, and with good reason.

The good news is that the same principles for information verification work to combat misinformation produced by artificial intelligence as misinformation created by humans.

If you are interested in digging into this complex topic in more depth, consider these resources:

AI-Generated Misinformation
From PBS News Hour
How AI Is being Used to Fight Fake News
"Which sources do you trust to tell you what you should distrust?" (description from the Chronicle of Higher Education website)
How to deal with AI-enabled disinformation
From the Brookings Institute
How to fact-check in the AI age
"The spread of misinformation is a growing concern complicated even more by artificial intelligence technologies. As AI-generated images and videos become more common, how do we distinguish fact from fiction? In this webinar, the News Literacy Project’s Dan Evon and DeMario Phipps-Smith discuss the fundamentals of fact-checking in the AI age." (description from the News Literacy Project website)

Clickbait is a disinformation technique where an online link (often accompanied by an image) makes a claim so outrageous that a user's curiosity is provoked to click on it. This is used on websites that use a "pay per click" advertising scheme.

Source: “This one weird trick will help you spot clickbait” by TED: “Health headlines are published every day, sometimes making opposite claims from each other. There can be a disconnect between broad, attention-grabbing headlines and the often specific, incremental results of the medical research they cover. So how can you avoid being misled by grabby headlines? Jeff Leek and Lucy McGowan explain how to read past the clickbait.” [Directed by Zedem Media, narrated by Addison Anderson]. (description from the TED website)

Images can evoke powerful emotions without any words. These days, computer users can create, alter, and share images and video fairly easily. Users can program artificial intelligence (AI) to create images based on certain parameters such as a style of art, film, or photography. As a savvy searcher, there are often ways you can tell whether an image or video you see online is an original photograph captured from real life or if it has been changed. The tutorials below may help you to determine the differences just by close observation and by using online tools to locate source material.

Deepfakes
"Deepfakes are videos that have been digitally manipulated to make a person appear to say or do something that the person never said or did." (description from the News Literacy Project website)
Altered Images - NewsLit's Tips for Sleuthing
"Where on earth? Online geolocation tools can help you identify where a digital image was actually taken." (description from the News Literacy Project website)
What are deepfakes - From the Guardian
"AI-generated fake videos are becoming more common (and convincing). Here’s why we should be worried." (description from The Guardian website
Deepfake Technology
"Deepfake technologies: What they are, what they do, and how they’re made" (description from the IEEE Spectrum Magazine website)
Debunking claims of "crisis actors" in Gaza | Is This Legit?
"A photo of a person wrapped in a white sheet recently went viral with captions implying that the Palestinian people are exaggerating death and devastation in Gaza. Some versions of the image shared conspiracy theories and claimed there are “crisis actors.” In this episode of Is This Legit? Teen fact-checker Isaac explains the harm of conspiracy theories and finds the context of the original photo using a reverse image search." (description from MediaWise YouTube site)
Out-of-context photos are a powerful low-tech form of misinformation
"Experts recommend having some healthy skepticism when you encounter images online." (description from the PBS’s News Hour article).

Many people consider the phrase fake news to be outdated. This is because the term has been used often in order to politically belittle the arguments of others. However, because it still is used in some contexts, we will include and discuss the term here.

As with so many terms surrounding mis- and disinformation, it is hard to find a universally-accepted definition of fake news, but there are some characteristics that all fake news generally has:

Fake news may be an online article, a statistic, a social media post, an image/infographic, or other piece of information.
- Fake news is not an organization or an individual.
Fake news is packaged and/or formatted so that it looks like legitimate and accurate news.
Fake news is deliberate disinformation.
- Fake news is not a mistake or an accident.
Fake news is intended to mislead public opinion.
- Fake news is not a satire or a parody.
Fake news may take a few words out of a quotation, a few numbers out of a survey, and/or a partial photograph in order to prove a point.
A fake news article may not provide its sources of information, or the sources might not be something you can verify.

(For definitions, see Some Key Terms for the Savvy Searcher on this page.)

Why should you care about whether or not your news is real or fake?

You deserve the truth. You are smart enough to make up your own mind - as long as you have the real facts in front of you. You have every right to be insulted when you read fake news, because you are being deliberately deceived.
Real news benefits you. If you want to buy stock in a company, you need to read accurate articles about that company so you can invest wisely. If you are planning on voting in an election, you need to read as much accurate information on a candidate so you can vote for the person who best represents your ideas and beliefs.
Fake news destroys your credibility. If your arguments are built on bad information now, people may find it much to believe you in the future.
Fake news can hurt you and a lot of other people. For example, those who spread fake news about medical discoveries help perpetuate myths that can actually be damaging to your health!