It seems no topic, conversation, or situation is off limits. Misinformation nonchalantly pops into news feeds. Disinformation seeps into family text exchanges. They casually insert themselves into conversations with friends.
Elements, fragments, and remnants of misinformation and disinformation are everywhere.
With more and more people actively avoiding the news while spending more time online and on social media, it’s easy to understand how inaccurate information is permeating every aspect of our lives. To combat misinformation, journalists, lawyers, the government, and other institutions need to work together.
The Spread of Misinformation and Disinformation
Merriam-Webster defines misinformation as “incorrect or misleading information.” The dictionary defines disinformation as “false information deliberately and often covertly spread (as by the planting of rumors) in order to influence public opinion or obscure the truth.”
You’ve heard the warnings and seen the proof of the bad actors deliberately pushing false theories, remaking agenda-driven histories, and using made-up stories and claims to push people to break the law, cause unrest, and disrupt democracy.
The real and more dangerous threat though is when that disinformation gets fragmented and distributed in smaller portions, hidden in plain sight right next to actual facts. In bite-size quantities, it’s harder for people to see the false theories and made-up stories as ridiculous, especially when there is almost always an element of truth attached to them.
The incorrect information hides in gifs, memes, jokes, podcasts, YouTube videos, online stories, and more. It’s then shared by people finding it increasingly difficult to differentiate fact from fiction, news from opinion, and trustworthy information sources from the bad actors aiming to deceive.
The spread of misinformation and disinformation isn’t just happening due to a lack of fact-checking by the public though. Recent research shows people feel social pressure from their online circles to share information they see others sharing whether they know it is true or not. Most people don’t have malicious intent when sharing incorrect information, and some may share it because they just want to fit in, according to the researchers.
The sharing of incomplete narratives, half-truths, or just plain incorrect information leads to a less informed public. More and more of the information people are consuming lacks multiple perspectives, accurate context, or historical explanations. These lazy narratives lead to the localization of misinformation and extremism and contribute to misperceptions about whether justice has been done.
We’ve seen narratives pushed by individuals and television networks related to the lack of criminal prosecution of robberies and car thefts in “liberal cities” and blue states. The headlines and stories are based on facts (these crimes are occurring) but lack perspective and context and are written to further the agenda of the authors or politicians. These stories impact an individual’s perception of the cities and states (they are not safe to live in and are dangerous), but more importantly, they can impact an individual’s perception of the criminal justice system.
Does seeing these stories repeatedly lead to people reporting crimes more? Or does it have the opposite effect? Will people stop reporting crimes because they think nothing will happen if they do report them? Alternatively, maybe people start taking justice into their own hands. Why call the police and wait for them to arrive if the person is going to be released without being charged? This recently happened in San Francisco when a business owner sprayed a homeless woman because he said he felt it was his only option.
Lack of Confidence from the Public
The proliferation of misinformation causes confusion and frustration and contributes to increased polarization and distrust of democratic institutions.
Recent research and polls show distrust in government and other institutions continues to be on the decline. Just one-third of Americans say they have a “fair amount” of trust in newspapers, television, and radio news reporting, a near-record low, according to an October Gallup poll. Americans’ confidence in scientists, the government (all three branches, including the Supreme Court), the military, teachers, police, organized religion, and the criminal justice system has also decreased.
Misinformation and disinformation have contributed to this distrust. When people do not feel confident the information they are consuming is helping them make decisions, they feel disempowered and can also become disinterested. This can lead to a lack of participation in civil duties like showing up for jury duty and voting in elections. It can also lead to people being less interested in the decisions judges are making, especially if they feel those decisions are one-sided or politically motivated. People then may not see the judgments as legal and begin acting without regard for the law or threat of potential consequence.