Misinformation is false or inaccurate information—getting the facts wrong. Disinformation is false information which is deliberately intended to mislead.
ViewPoints, is the title of the course magazine. As a LIB1201 student you have reflected and written on numerous issues pertinent to the information age. Congratulations on releasing the annual semester-in-review issue to cover the disinformation events from the past year. Now from the perspective of the reader, select one article from that issue about disinformation that resonated with you and contribute a commentary to the editor. This means that you will now play the role of a reader of ViewPoints and respond to the editor about your perspective on any issue about disinformation. For e.g.
- Technology software spreading disinformation – bots, viral trends
- Influencers and disinformation
- Disinformation on social media and violence
- Undermining Americans’ democracy – voter disinformation and suppression and its harm to marginalized populations.
- Digital platforms unchecked collection and use of data & storage of it—it’s effect on individual privacy
- Conspiracy theories & disinformation – Nancy Pelosi’s husband attack
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The public should be aware of the spread of disinformation by influencers. Sponsors often pay influencers to spread information that can lead to a skewed interpretation, and it’s up to us to decipher what misinformation is through fact-checking and doing our research.
Spreading disinformation with bots can be very damaging. If its said enough times then people will believe it. Especially when you see it a million times from a million other bots not realising they are bots. That is why it is important to check accounts to see if they have a profile picture, a good follow count, previous posts, knowing how long the account existed for, and a good understanding of human psychology would also help. If the site has trouble combating bots then its really good to be skeptical. going off the app and waiting can also be helpful, sometimes the truth unfolds over time especially if its a current event. Don’t forget to always call someone else out if they are wrong or misleading so other people can now.
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Conspiracy theories and disinformation can prove to be harmful as people may truly believe that the information they are reading is true. People can then react negatively to this information and seek to hurt people out of frustration. This can also fuel the spread of these theories and disinformation as people would want to continue to share what they’ve found to be the “truth” with others.
Technology software spreading disinformation is very harmful, especially viral trends. People agree with whoever has the most popular opinion or platform instead of voicing their own opinions or checking if they are right. Viral trends make individuals believe that certain things are okay to do or say, further spreading false information on the internet. People want a sense of belonging and to be right so they do things that conform to other people’s beliefs.
As technology continues to advance the spreading of propaganda bots and viral trends get smarter over time. with how vast the internet is and how rapidly growing day by day. platforms like Twitter and Facebook can not keep up with the number of bots spreading information. And it should be up to the reader to differentiate between whats real and not.
Social media is used everywhere throughout the day, many people obtain information through these apps not fact-checking or researching the information further. People get manipulated with disinformation and instead of simply checking whether this is credible they act on it. This is dangerous because disinformation can lead to violence. There needs to be more regulation on social media platforms.
As technology software continues to evolve, the ability to sort out the fact from disinformation gets harder to do. It is easier to upload opinions and misinformation and state them as facts and with the added assistance of bots and viral trends, makes it impossible to look the other way. While trends may be more enjoyable to watch and follow, there is little to verify if something is true or not and for the most part, people tend to follow popular opinion and entertainment than fact or doing some research. Disinformation can lead to dangerous thinking and actions and those who create digital software, are also susceptible to bias of their own.
False information that is not meant to hurt anyone. People who don’t know that a piece of information is untrue, for instance, might share it on social media in an effort to be helpful.
Fact-checking is important because misinformation can sway your opinion. In turn, your opinion can largely inform your actions. If you base your actions on false information, you can easily make the wrong decisions. These decisions can lead to unintended consequences. For example, if you share fake news on a social media platform and people find out it’s fake, it could negatively impact their opinion of your credibility. Or, the fake news you share could go viral and shape the outcome of an election.