Have you ever been scrolling through social media and you see something that makes you pause, for example: “Breaking: Carney announces southern border wall!” Well that’s a little strange isn’t it? Could it be true, if you can’t beat them, join them? You get a rush of anxiety, dread, worry. I feel that for a lot of us, we feel a need to immediately share this bit of information. Then it turns out it’s actually not true, and we shared and contributed to the spread of misinformation, something that is on the rise within the world of social media.
But what is misinformation, and how is it different from disinformation? The Canadian Museum for Human Rights explains that misinformation is false information shared without the intent to manipulate or deceive, whereas disinformation is intentionally misleading and often has an underlying objective.
Misinformation is everywhere. I could be scrolling through TikTok, and find over a dozen pieces of misinformation in less than an hour. I know that most of it is fake but when my emotions are high, or if I am following events that are still developing, these videos, with their attention grabbing captions, can feel like an answer. If I saw a video of Prime Minister Mark Carney announcing that Canada was building a wall across our border with the U.S., given the current state of the world I might just believe something like that since nothing surprises me anymore.
Studies show that users are often misled when the emotions are involved. When you hear a triggering piece of news, or if a political figure you admire states something, it can be easy to take it at face value. Fortunately, the UFV Library has a page dedicated to information about misinformation including a list of fact checkers, which often check major news stories and what our leaders are saying. Ground News is a great tool I frequently use and it makes this information easier to find and more accessible. You can see how many news outlets have covered a certain topic, what political spectrum they lean towards, and whether they are an independent outlet or part of a conglomerate. The American Psychological Association also provides a free course on identifying false information, and when I checked it out, it replicated much of the advice that I had already found. It’s a beneficial course and provides a strong foundation for figuring out what’s real and what’s not.
Let’s go back to that hypothetical video of Carney. When I see it, I can tell if it’s authentic by checking off a few boxes, most of which just take a second glance. First, am I getting this info from a verified source? I know how easy it is to miss who is posting something on social media and instead be drawn in by the content, but checking if a user is verified can help you identify what might be fake info. If my source comes from a verified news account, and I can find it widely reported by reliable news outlets, then it’s probably accurate. But in our scenario, I find that the account that posted the video is called “user2459069583205” and has a single video uploaded. If you wanted to dive deeper, you could also check comment sections to see if there’s a discussion surrounding the event and what more you could glean from it — but take everything you find there with a grain of salt.
However, it’s not just on social media platforms where misinformation exists and disinformation is practiced. When a government or organization produces misinformation, it is more likely to be proffered by verified media outlets, making it harder to identify whether it’s false. It’s important to know why an article is being written, who is writing it, and who is funding it. Multiple trustworthy media outlets are owned by conglomerates, big corporations, or billionaires. While this doesn’t make a source completely untrustworthy, it can influence what the media covers and what it chooses not to.
Before generative AI burst onto the scene, the internet was still full of misinformation, but now that we are constantly flooded by “AI slop,” well-crafted pieces of disinformation can sneak by. As AI becomes more advanced, misinformation and disinformation will be even harder to identify. This is why it’s increasingly important to train yourself and critically think: is that really real?
