Media and the Globalization of Misinformation

Alternative facts and fake news are clear examples of misinformation and sometimes, disinformation. Misinformation simply means ‘incorrect and misleading information’, while disinformation is defined as ‘false information deliberately and often covertly spread in order to influence public opinion or obscure the truth’. The major difference between the two words is intent. Where misinformation can be an honest mistake, disinformation is a deliberate use of misinformation to deceive. Disinformation was historically carried out by intelligence agencies, and in recent years by non-state actors. Misinformation is not a new phenomenon; it has existed since humans began communicating. However, the current information age, underlined by news publishing via social media platforms, encourages the spread of misinformation (and disinformation) on digital platforms, and this has far-reaching consequences on society. One of those consequences is the birthing of a ‘post-truth’ era, one where public opinion is shaped by appeals to emotion rather than facts, values, expert opinion, and shared reality. Misinformation has not only thrived online; it has also expanded offline into traditional media and become a global malaise.

In this ‘post-truth’ era, a mass of social media denizens, citizen journalists, professional communicators, and state and non-state actors use social networking platforms to set an agenda, whip up sentiments, and appeal to their audience’s emotions. Consequently, media narratives and public opinion have often swayed on these misdirections and emotive appeals. Social media lends itself to a user-centric format in which citizen journalists and the audience become ‘prosumers’ of content at the same time. The absence of gatekeepers on social media means that unverifiable information can get published and presented as real news. Fake news is further amplified because of the echo-chambers and filter bubbles of social media platforms, which deliver a diet of algorithm-curated content that leaves little or no room for divergent opinions and viewpoints. This has led to the rise of rabid partisanship, ideological extremes of far-right and far-left, clickbait, and the chase for views, at the detriment of real news. This is all compounded by the lack of digital media literacy by new media users.