Misinformation vs disinformation
Year 9 to 12 students, parents, and teachers
Misinformation is false information that is spread, regardless of intent to mislead. However, if it is a deliberate, often orchestrated attempt to confuse or manipulate people through delivering dishonest information, it is disinformation. The latter is more dangerous because it is intending to harm, often organised, well resourced, and reinforced by automated technology.
Both have proliferated. Social media spreads free ‘news’ at the expense of quality journalism, which is often only available through paid subscriptions. Anyone can post and pass-on news, designed to be sensational to trigger the emotional impulse to share. The user benefits from being the first to share, the creator benefits from the generated revenue and/or push an ideology, and the social media platform benefits from increased advertising dollars. The losers are — all of us by becoming more polarised and distorted in our views. This can cause social friction and erode our democratic-based societies.
Not only individuals, but governments around the world also spread disinformation in the pursuit of geopolitical ends. They are leveraging digital tools and social media networks to spread narratives, distortions, and falsehoods to shape public perceptions and undermine trust in the truth.
Question: How do you work out if a media piece is mis- or disinformation?
Casper Pieters PhD Dip Ed is an author and educator who uses adventure narratives to enliven the ICT curriculum for young people. www.casperpieters.com
