There’s no shortage of information in our world, so much so that it can become a barrier to separating fact from false and fake when seeking to get to the heart of an issue and make good decisions.
The word “infodemic” was coined by David Rothkopf in a 2003 Washington Post column and has seen renewed usage in the coronavirus pandemic:
What exactly do I mean by the “infodemic”? A few facts, mixed with fear, speculation and rumor, amplified and relayed swiftly worldwide by modern information technologies, have affected national and international economies, politics and even security in ways that are utterly disproportionate with the root realities. It is a phenomenon we have seen with greater frequency in recent years—not only in our reaction to SARS, for example, but also in our response to terrorism and even to relatively minor occurrences such as shark sightings.
— David Rothkopf, The Washington Post, 11 May 2003
Like a virus, information spreads, and unfortunately false information is the virus that spreads six times faster.
While we tend to think of this superspreading infectious agent as one type of virus we call “misinformation”, much of it is actually a more malicious type of false information: “disinformation.” While these words are often used interchangeably, misinformation and disinformation are not the same thing.
As defined by Dictionary.com:
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Misinformation: false information that is spread, regardless of whether there is intent to mislead
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Disinformation: deliberately misleading or biased information; manipulated narrative or facts; propaganda
If we want to effectively stop the spread of false information, we need to do better at identifying the different types.
Misinformation is misleading. Disinformation is a weapon and a damned lie.
P.S. Want a practical way to help reduce the spread of false information? Stop sharing links without first reading them and validating the sources. This is called blind sharing and makes up for 59% of links shared on social media.
h/t Growth.Design and their case study The Psychology of Misinformation During the 2020 U.S. Elections
