The following is a high level overview on the spread of
Disinformation, Misinformation, ‘Fake News’, or Outright Lies
about Religion, Healthcare, Politics, UFOs, Aliens, International
Affairs, Economy, Stock Market… in this 21st century
‘Information Age’. It is more rampant than ever on today’s
cable TV channels, the Internet, the blogosphere, social media, and
other sources of information.
Sorting
through the vast amount of information created and shared online is
challenging even for many
experts
– specially
when
you’re looking for the
‘truth’. Do
you know the difference between ‘fake
news’, misinformation,
and
disinformation?
Understanding the various ways that false information is shared, and
the motives behind its
creation,
is extremely
important in this
‘Information
Age’.
So let’s take a quick look at
this issue.
Definitions
for
Misinformation,
Disinformation,
and ‘Fake
News’
- Misinformation
- False information that is spread, regardless of whether there is
intent to mislead.
- Disinformation
- Deliberately
misleading or biased information; manipulated narrative or facts;
propaganda.
-
Fake
News
- Purposefully
crafted, sensational, emotionally charged, misleading or totally
fabricated information that mimics the form of mainstream news.
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The
following are a
couple of
recent articles on misinformation, disinformation, and ‘fake news’
that you might want to take
a few minutes to read
for yourself.
In
addition, there are several books you might want to check out about
the Misinformation Age.
Here
are a couple of final observations and thoughts you might also want to
consider.
- Sadly,
commercial media organizations today have conflated
profit with purpose, and news with entertainment. They no
longer
report the news, they create it, and
have turned
fact-based news into opinion-based gossip.
- Its
amazing to
see how
a small group of online
sources
are
able
to create a huge amount of chaos online, and destruction -- without
any legal
consequences.
Finally,
have you noticed the plethora of cable
TV shows on ‘history’
or
‘religion’ where
UFOs and alien entities are said
to be responsible for building the pyramids, visiting our world and
passing along sacred scriptures, and so many other highly
questionable claims.
Potential Solutions
The
following are a selection of solutions needed to help counter
misinformation, disinformation, and ‘fake news’.
-
First,
we need to educate and clearly explain to people what misinformation is and why
it’s actually very dangerous.
-
Second,
people should not blindly trust every piece of information they hear
or receive over digital news and social media platforms.
-
Third,
fact-checkers must be employed and empowered by key institutions to
verify questionable information and facts being shared by news media
and social media influencers.
-
Fourth,
people should be encouraged to broaden the selection of news and
social media sources they use so they do not get trapped in a
‘bubble’, ignoring other credible factual resources.
- Finally,
we need both
a
nation-wide
and world-wide
effort by the public and private sectors, to build better
media
literacy, and
to
empower members of the public to recognize
information or
news designed
specifically
to
mislead.