NewsLiteracyPlaybook - Flipbook - Page 13
History of Misinformation
13
and policy making (PDF download), prepared for the
Council of Europe. They see the phrase “fake news”
mostly as a cudgel used by politicians around the
world — including President Bashar al-Assad of Syria,
President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela and President
Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines — to condemn
journalists and censor news.
Motive matters too, they write. Who is the source,
and what is the intent: Is it an ad to sell a product, or
propaganda to sell a belief?
Wardle discourages use of the phrase, largely
because it is unhelpful: “The term ‘fake’ doesn’t
begin to describe the complexity of the different
types of misinformation (the inadvertent sharing
of false information) and disinformation (the
deliberate creation and sharing of information
known to be false).”
“We are witnessing something new: information
pollution at a global scale; a complex web of
motivations for creating, disseminating and
consuming these ‘polluted’ messages; a myriad of
content types and techniques for amplifying content;
innumerable platforms hosting and reproducing this
content; and breakneck speeds of communication
between trusted peers.”
Messages, motives and technology combined have
led to what Wardle and Derakhshan call “information
disorder” (PDF download).
Seven Types of Mis- and Disinformation
Satire or parody
False connection
When content is created for humor, with no
intention to cause harm — but with the potential
to fool.
When headlines, visuals or captions don’t support
the content (for example, headlines that lead a
person to click to learn more but where the stories
don’t match the headline).
Misleading content
When information is used in a misleading way
to frame an issue or individual (for example,
suggesting that someone took a position that the
person did in fact take — but leaving out important
information that would put the position in a
different light).
Imposter content
When genuine sources are impersonated (for
example, attributing a fact to a well-known and
credible news source that did not actually report
the fact).
Fabricated content
When content is 100% false, designed to deceive
and do harm.
False context
When genuine content is shared with false
contextual information (for example, an image of
an attack that occurred, but with a caption giving a
different time and place).
Manipulated content
When genuine information or imagery is
manipulated to deceive (for example, a fabricated
video, known as a “deepfake,” that substitutes a
person’s face or voice to make it appear that the
person is doing something that actually was never
done or saying something that actually was never
said).
— From Information Disorder: Toward an
interdisciplinary framework for research and policy
making by Claire Wardle and Hossein Derakhshan