Identifying Mis-, Dis-, and Malinformation

Three Types of Bad Information

Misinformation in Context of Education

One of the first things you learn in school, even before you learn about the tired old “five paragraph essay,” is that some resources are “bad.” There are certain sources, and types of sources, you should not rely upon or trust. You typically have all of your readings and sources handed to you so your instructors know you are using the best information (according to them, at least). As you start writing the essays and branch out into using search engines and databases, you learn that certain methods of looking for information resources are more effective than others. You also learn that you can select what types of sources you focus on. As you begin to write analytical papers and research papers in high school, you engage in more granular resource analyzation. You look at the details of arguments and their origins, the authors’ sources and research patterns, and the affiliations and motivations behind the sources’ creation. You also begin to form connections between different sources and types of sources to create a broader argument, or narrative.

This is not just true for academic research. Data, information, and knowledge inform business decisions, non-profit initiatives, policy decisions, and public opinion.

Or, at least, it should.

All of the skills that we learn, in any context, related to acquiring reliable sources and accurate information are collectively called “information literacy.” I have talked about this issue in multiple recent posts. In my last post, I mentioned that promoting information literacy is the vast majority of what I do.

The information I discuss below should be common knowledge, and I thought that I came up with most of it on my own. But, evidently, I was influenced by other resources. Election and campaign workers, antisemitism awareness groups, and military administrators, to name a few, actively train themselves and their audiences regarding information literacy. In particular, they train regarding the signs and negative impacts of false information.

In my post about “insta-research,” I say that “when we commit to using thorough information literacy skills, we learn to be distrustful of answers that come more quickly than we are expecting.” However, even answers that we find through active search can be inaccurate. Hard work to find possible resources is only half the battle. We also have to think critically about the information in the sources. This is why I talk about the SIFT method in this article.

Multiple studies have shown that there is a demonstrated decline in information literacy skills among junior high students. This trend can be exacerbated if we rely on AI tools to find sources or give us our arguments. If we trust an AI tool to completely automate any significant part of our work, we become more prone to AI-dependency. However, if educators and their students proactively engage in information literacy skills, they will be able to research using any tool productively.

No matter what type of research tool you use, be it an AI tool or a search engine, you cannot take its suggestions and implications at face value. This is because the antithesis of information literacy is misinformation, and this is more widespread, pernicious, and variable than one might think.

Different Types of Misinformation

Multiple Christian groups (at least, those are the groups in which I have heard this) tend to reference a particular analogy when recognizing lies (usually attributed to Satan) and truth. They usually talk about the ostensibly innate quality of counterfeit currency detectors. They claim that in order to recognize fake money as fast as possible, detectors put all their time into studying real money.

I wrote about the importance of studying valid sources in the above article about elections, but sometimes it is important to be aware of potential falsehoods. The analogy regarding counterfeit money is beneficial when identifying deepfakes and other materials that can have clear, determinate signs of illegitimacy. However, even materials that have all the right signs of authenticity (impressive graphic design, references to official-sounding documents and organizations, fleshed out author bios, links to sources, etc.) can still be misleading and false. The key is to look at the content, not its appearance. This is where the counterfeit analogy falls short. This is also why the CRAAP test is not as good as the SIFT method (I’ll spare you my

There are three types of inaccurate information that can be hazardous to the casual or purpose-driven researcher:

• Misinformation is false, but not created or shared with the intention of causing harm.

• Disinformation is deliberately created to mislead, harm, or manipulate a person, social group, organization, or country.

• Malinformation is based on fact, but used out of context to mislead, harm, or manipulate.

Misinformation

Misinformation, actual misinformation, is the most common type of false information. In my mind, it also the most pervasive and long-lasting. People who spread misinformation honestly believe that it is accurate, and they can be sensitive to criticism. No one likes to admit that they are wrong, especially when it may mean that they did not do their due diligence.

Misinformation includes rumors, misguided misinterpretation of facts or data, or other well-intentioned mistakes.

Disinformation

Disinformation is often what gives rise to misinformation. This is the spread of information that is instigated by people who know that the information is wrong. The actual content of the incorrect information may not be important to the purveyor. What matters is that it is not true.

Usually, disinformation is intended to influence a person, or a small group, to make a particular financial, political, or social choice. This choice is not going to harm the reader, but it will benefit the purveyor of the disinformation. Additionally, disinformation involves some type of emotional or social manipulation to motivate the reader to act.

However, there are types of disinformation that are intended to harm the reader. Scam emails, malicious websites and advertisements, and just plain manipulative and predatory communications are included in this type of disinformation. Historical examples include election misinformation, particularly in the last ten years, the “Plandemic” documentary that was released during the Covid-19 pandemic, and anti-Mormon propaganda that was published in the mid-19th century that led to persecution, including the “Extermination Order” in Missouri.

Disinformation, malicious and relatively harmless, includes fake news, social media posts and comments that are untrue or taken out of context, spam emails, and essentially anything that is sent or posted that cannot be corroborated with external sources. Specific examples include the 2010s “pizzagate” conspiracy, disinformation regarding the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, and deepfake videos and images. Even if there is little or no direct harm as a result of disinformation, exposure to disinformation could make the reader distrustful of reliable information sources, which can have lasting impacts.

Malinformation

Malinformation is the most pernicious form of misinformation. Not only does the consequence of following misinformation benefit the originator. It actively harms the follower and other people. Furthermore, it can be argued that malinformation is technically accurate (just not truthful)! Malinformation actually uses accurate data and information. However, it pulls these facts out of context. For example, it could rehash issues or controversies that have already been resolved. Or, it could release factual information with false claims.

Examples of malinformation include political attack ads, doxxing (publishing private information and data about a victim online to facilitate attacks), targeted ads (especially political ones like those facilitated by Cambridge Analytica), and leaks of sensitive and confidential information.

Conclusion: Misinformation Of Any Type Affects Everything

I hope you can tell that misinformation of any type, from any source, can impact all aspects of life. The slightest mistake about a particular group of people or an event can influence prejudice, discrimination, and social and cultural misunderstandings. Disinformation can alter political, social, and religious outcomes. Malinformation causes people to give unwarranted attention to facts that are blown out of proportion or an invasion or privacy or sensitivity.

It is our responsibility as consumers and readers to understand the origin of the information or data we come across in our sources. We at least need to know if a resource is reliable. Furthermore, knowing what kind of false information a resource contains can help us combat it, whether that means correcting a mistaken reporter or speaking out against a malicious purveyor. Information literacy is truly our best defense against misinformation in all its types.

References

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, (2022), “Mis-, Dis-, and Malinformation Planning and Incident response.” https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/publications/mdm-incident-response-guide_508.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com