2 | Misinformation or Disinformation

 

In today's society, news is able to spread within seconds with the influx of technology and social media. A social media platforms post can reach billions, and multiple countries within the world in seconds, without the information being credible or accurate. The ability and powers that social media gives us to stay informed and in the know is immense, but it also comes with a downside: Misinformation or Disinformation. 

According to Britannica, "Misinformation is the inadvertent spread of false information without intent to harm, while disinformation is false information designed to mislead other and is deliberately spread with intent to confuse fact and fiction." 

A very common misconception about these two words is that they mean the same, but they cannot be farther from the truth. Although they are different, it is very important to understand the difference between the two when understanding their roles in Mass Media. Misinformation in our society is usually unintentional. Most of the times it happens simply because someone shares a story through social media, without going to another search engine or website to verify if it's true. While disinformation is not so harmless, its purpose is to trick or mislead people for some sort of gain. 

Misinformation and Disinformation is not only shared through social media posts but also affects actual news outlets as well. Hyper realistic AI news videos are flooding through social media, making it hard for people to tell what is being told to them is fake or truth. But it's mostly because of how technology has advanced and will continue to advance. Below is a video explaining how AI has affected news outlets and reports.

AI News videos blur lines between fake and real reports

This is a graph from Taylor and Francis, explaining how these two terms are similar, different, and overlap. Although these terms will forever be in our lives, the solution for this is to be careful and thoughtful about the information and news we consume. To think first before you believe the first thing you read on a social media post, to double check the source if it is credible, and information can be confirmed through another source. Following these simple steps can help protect us from being harmed by misleading news. 

In our technology advancing world, news can spread all over the world within seconds. The reality is that news might not be true, misleading billions of people. Understanding and learning the difference between Misinformation and Disinformation, but also how they play a role in the media we consume is crucial to staying correctly informed. Before you read something, and think it is something worth sharing, make sure you fact check before you regret sharing fake news.