Countering Misinformation & disinformation
The spread of false and misleading information, whether intentional or not, is the cause of significant harm across society, from health to politics and beyond.
Anyone who spends even a little time on social media will be aware of the increase in information of variable quality that is either inadvertently or deliberately misleading. It has become more apparent during the pandemic, with issues such as mask wearing and vaccination hot topics for debate. But it is also apparent across a range of other social issues, such as climate change and the recent referendum for a First Nations Voice to Parliament. In dentistry, there has long been concern with anti-fluoridationists spreading false information about the harms and benefits of water fluoridation, and we have seen that used to great effect as more communities are forcing local councils to cease fluoridation.
Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance. George Bernard Shaw
The spread of misinformation, disinformation and ‘fake news’ is having a disturbing effect on trust. Trust in science, trust in institutions, and even trust in each other. To the extent that the World Health Organisation has flagged the word infodemic to highlight concerns about the health impacts of false or misleading information.
Firstly, it’s important to define and make a distinction between misinformation and disinformation.
Misinformation can be considered as false information that is not intended to cause harm, such as inaccurate data or other unintentional mistakes.
Disinformation on the other hand is fabricated or deliberately manipulated content that is intentionally created to manipulate, cause damage to guide people in the wrong direction. It can be knowingly shared by others to cause harm.
It’s also worth noting another term – malinformation – when genuine information is shared in order to cause harm, for example sharing true information out of context or deliberate publication of private information.
Intent is the key to distinguishing misinformation and disinformation, but it’s not always so clear-cut. Disinformation is clearly false and meant to cause harm, but for many people who share things online, they do genuinely believe it to be true.
The problem with false information is that it invariably takes significantly more effort to refute than to produce. This is referred to as Brandolini’s Law (or the Bullshit Asymmetry Principle). It means that false information spreads quickly, and once it has taken hold, it is difficult to convince people that it is wrong. Indeed, there is an old proverb which states: “a lie is halfway round the world before the truth has got its boots on”.
Social media has become an echo chamber, and confirmation bias is a strong reinforcing mechanism – people seek out others with similar viewpoints and use the information that they find as evidence to support their own position. Coupled with information overload, it can be difficult for people to sift through conflicting information and weed out misinformation and disinformation. The lines between fact, entertainment, parody, fiction and fabrication are becoming increasingly blurry. The loss of trust in institutions means that it is even more difficult point to published evidence to combat disinformation. The response will invariably mention ‘big pharma’ or issues with peer-review to shut down debate.
And there is also tension, especially in the social media space, about free speech, content moderation and censoring particular voices. There is evidence that shutting down debate on one social platform invariably moves that conversation to another platform and creates even more of an echo chamber where there are no voices to counter false information. This is how conspiracy theories flourish.
A challenge in countering false information is that there is often an ethical asymmetry at play. The type of people who spread false information are also likely to be the kind who misrepresent evidence, avoid acknowledging or correcting mistakes and engage in ad hominem attacks.
The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place. George Bernard Shaw
One of the keys to combating disinformation is to read widely and use that as an opportunity to challenge your own worldview. This is important in overcoming confirmation bias. Healthy scepticism is important, as is checking the sources of information. And continue to have open and honest debate to highlight misinformation and disinformation. You won’t change everyone’s mind, but you might change one.