Between the news media and social media, we are inundated by information, crises, disasters, and violence nonstop. Everyone’s attention span is stretched and most of us feel overwhelmed. There are likely multiple times a day while reading through the news or our social media feeds where we might come across something that brings us to a pause and ask: Is this really true?

So far in this blog series we’ve covered rapid response and crisis communications. During these highly charged moments when we are forced to think quickly on our feet and make assessments about whether and how to respond, we also have to navigate the threat of misinformation and disinformation. All together, these moments invite us to be as discerning and as disciplined as possible to move mindfully through the chaos, panic, and confusion.

In this installment of our series, we focus on defining misinformation and disinformation as well as framing the stakes of what the increasing spread means for our movements.

Disinformation vs. Misinformation

Let’s start with some simple definitions to lay out clearly the difference between disinformation and misinformation.

• Disinformation is information that is deliberately false or misleading, often spread for political gain, profit, or to discredit a target individual, group, movement, or political party. For example, lies about a particular group that is meant to sow racial divisions.
• Misinformation is information that is false or misleading that is shared by people who don’t realize it is false and don’t mean to cause harm. For example, a family member re-sharing an article thinking it’s useful without knowing it’s false information. While not intended to cause division and panic, there can be earnest confusion.

The main difference is motivation. It’s important to pay attention to what is underneath as well. The underlying narratives that make disinformation believable have long been shaped by powerful, wealthy, conservative forces who spread lies and manipulate people to maintain and consolidate power. Our opponents are using multi-million dollar ad budgets to amplify their messaging, make deceitful phone calls to voters during elections, and now more than ever, are spreading lies digitally.

The Increasing Spread of Disinformation

The digital realm has created the opportunity for a wider range of bad actors to spread deceptive information and content, and has allowed for more targeted ways for harmful, racist dominant narratives to spread. Social media allows anyone to easily initiate public political debates, but it also gives a platform to extremist voices and actors that seek to manipulate the political conversation in order to further their own financial or political interests.

Disinformation from right wing and government actors aided by the negligence of social media platforms has served to erode our communities’ trust in information and broader investment in liberation movements. These actors are emboldened by the rise in authoritarian efforts that specifically target Black and brown communities with wedge campaigns intended to undermine solidarity and promote inaccurate narratives to derail movements.

Research has shown that misinformation can be amplified in communities where people with similar points of view and few dissenting voices exist, creating an “information cocoon.” Similarly, “data voids” are created when relevant information is limited or non-existent, which creates more opportunities for our opponents to fill the voids with lies and propaganda. For example, we see more fake news outlets emerging specifically to disseminate disinformation.

Moving Strategically to Control the Debate

We can slow the spread of disinformation by knowing how to detect it and resisting the urge to spread it. Once disinformation is amplified, it’s difficult to erase its impacts so, as much as possible, we have to prevent disinformation from spreading as early as possible in the chain of amplification, and provide accurate information to spread in its stead.

As our opponents spread disinformation at an unprecedented rate that threatens the just future we are all working towards, we can’t look at disinformation in a vacuum. Instead we have to see it as part of building narrative power and challenge the old narratives that give disinformation a foothold in the public imagination. As we respond to disinformation and misinformation, we must start seeding counter narratives that inoculate against disinformation by creating a new common sense where racist and xenophobic values have no place, and therefore little traction through which to spread.

Tracking, combatting, and neutralizing disinformation is not separate from strategic communications or narrative change, and should be integrated across media scanning and monitoring social media to developing messaging and digital content. In our next installment of this series, we will share some best practices for detecting disinformation and how a proactive communications strategy can help inoculate disinformation before it spreads. 

At Change Consulting, we understand the unique challenges organizations face in today’s environment. If you need support on disinformation, rapid response, or crisis communications, we’re here to help. Email us at hello@change-llc.com with your questions and to let us know what you want to learn more about when it comes to these topics.