When consuming information of any type, it is vital to understand misinformation and what has now been called fake news. Although this term has been highly politicized it is important to understand that in the context of information literacy, fake news has been spread widely especially on social media platforms. In addition, misinformation is everywhere and it is important for the average person to begin to recognize this part of our digital and multimedia world and develop strategies to not become a victim of this type of information.
Misinformation |
Disinformation |
Malinformation |
| Definition: False or inaccurate information that is being created and spread accidentally without intention to deceive or harm. | False information that is being created and spread purposefully with the intention to hide the truth, mislead, and manipulate a person, social group, organization, or country. | Definition: Information that is based in reality but used out of context to inflict harm on a person, organization, or country. |
| Example: Unintentional mistakes such as inaccurate photo captions, dates, statistics, translations, or when satire is taken serious. | Example: Fabricated or deliberately manipulated audio/visual content. Intentionally created conspiracy theories or rumors. | Example: Editing a video to remove important context to harm or mislead. |
Clickbait:
Definition: something (such as a headline) designed to make readers want to click on a hyperlink especially when the link leads to content of dubious value or interest. (Merriam Webster)
Examples:
Fake News
Definition: A concerted effort by a website or other form of media to fabricate information in order to influence political opinion or win financial gain.
Example: In an effort to spread vaccine disinformation, a claim appeared in an article (archived here) titled "CEO of Pfizer arrested, charged with fraud - media blackout - Conservative Beaver" published by ConservativeBeaver.com on November 5, 2021.
Propaganda
Definition: Information, ideas, or rumors deliberately spread widely to help or harm a person, group, movement, institution, nation. It intends to build support for an ideology or leader and demonizing the opposition. Modern propaganda goes beyond the traditional physical media (posters, flyers, etc.) to include name-calling and bandwagoning (especially on social media). This can also include memes and mainstream partisan news.
Example:
Satire
Definition: The use of humor, sarcasm, irony, or exaggeration to expose the flaws or vices of individuals, institutions, or groups (including their ideas, claims, and proposals). It is most commonly used in the context of topical issues, particularly in the political arena.
If you are an average American with access to the internet, you consume a big portion of your news through Social Media — 62% of us get news this way. Given that social media has become an integral component of the political process during a time of dramatic polarization, there is a concern that the digital world has become a means to filter out opposing opinions from one’s personal online universe – creating an “echo chamber"
It can be easy to assume that a most people see things the way that you do. After all, your news feed is full of facts and opinions that agree with you!
The sorting algorithms for social media networks like Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook are based on engagement. This means that the more a story incites an emotional reaction (positive OR negative) the more likely people are to interact with it (sharing, liking, commenting, etc.). This is great for making social media companies wealthy.
What those algorithms do not do is show you both sides of a situation OR evaluate if the source is a credible source. It is, by design, going to curate and limit what you see based on what makes you comfortable and won't challenge your feelings or viewpoint.
A filter bubble is your own personal, unique universe of information that you live in online. And what's in your filter bubble depends on who you are, and it depends on what you do.
Filter bubbles ensure that the information you're reading confirms previously existing beliefs or biases, aka confirmation bias.
