EOTO 2 Information

 Disinformation vs. Misinformation 

“Everybody gets so much information all day long that they lose their common sense.” – Gertrude Stein

Disinformation

Disinformation: “false information deliberately and often covertly spread (as by the planting of rumors) in order to influence public opinion or obscure the truth” 

“Disinformation” comes from  the Russian word “Dezinformatsiya” (дезинформация) Russia started using the term in the early 1920s because there was a disinformation office created. Its purpose was to circulate “false information with the intention to deceive public opinion”. In Russia disinformation was viewed as a strategic weapon to be used in its overall Active Measures strategy. Active Measures strategy is “a Soviet term for active intelligence operations for the purpose of influencing world events to achieve its geopolitical goals.”

Misinformation

Misinformation: "information that is false or inaccurate… regardless of an intent to deceive” 

Misinformation was first recorded in the late 1500s (1550-1580) and is related to the verb “misinform” which has been recorded since the late 1300s/ early 1400s. In 2018 Dictionary.com named “Misinformation” the word of the year.

(Thought to just include fake news since dis- and mis- information can be spread by ti)

Fake news: “News stories that are false: the story itself is fabricated, with no verifiable facts, sources or quotes”

Disinformation Examples 

A Communist is running for governor?

 

Here Stacy Abrams who is currently running to be Governor of Georgia. In the edited photo on the left Abrams is being accused of and called things she is not. This is disinformation because the claims being made in the left photo are not true at all. Plus, the person who made the edit saw the REAL photo of Abrams and chose to add disinformation to it to hurt her campaign.

Pope Francis endorsed President Trump?

 

When Donald Trump was running for Presidential Office in 2016 it was reported that Pope Francis endorsed him. They did not meet each other until the following year (2017) which was not taboo because many, especially United States Presidents, meet other world leaders and figures after being elected. This supposed endorsement came from the website WTOE 5. The website’s “about” page includes that “most articles on wtoe5news.com are satire or pure fantasy.” Pope Francis has been outspoken about President Trump and his views, as seen in the quote above.

Hilary Clinton linked to sex trafficking…

In 2016, Hilary Clinton had leaked campaign emails and people were combing through these emails to find some type of dirt on the Presidential Candidate. That is how “Pizzagate” was created and it spread like wildfire that the Clinton’s and many other Democrats had a child sex traficking ring in the basement of a D.C. pizzeria called Comet Ping Pong. These allegations got so bad that in  December 2016, Edgar Welch (28) from Salisbury, N.C. took an AR-15 and other weapons into the restaurant to “self-investigate” while it was open. He fired shots, but no one was hit and it was discovered that the pizzeria does not have a basement. This disinformation led to an intense situation which could have turned deadly.

Misinformation Examples

Leonardo DiCaprio donated to Ukraine, it’s his grandmother's homeland

This tweet was produced by a the twitter handle @Now_in_Ukraine and in their bio states “News agency covering the war in Ukraine. Verified sources only. Subscribe to our RSS feed. Spread the word, share the truth. #standwithukraine” with 1,185 followers. This story that DiCaprio donated $10 million to Ukraine was heartwarming to hear, and when the reasoning, it was his grandmother's homeland, it made people fall in love with him even more. Other sites like People Magazine and Vogue magazine shared the story as well. As far as it is known, DiCaprio has no ties to Ukraine, that was not his grandmother’s home country, and he did not donate $10 million. Patrick Carpen is the founder of GSA News which mainly reports on news about Guyana, a South American country. He argued, before eventually apologizing for the misinformation, “I really trust my source inside Ukraine."

Is President Obama a U.S. Citizen?

Article 2 Section 1 states, “No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President”

The birtherism theory started in 2004 by Andy Martin, an Illinoisan who has been a political candidate numerous times. Hyper and real public attention came in 2008 when Clinton supporters started questioning his birthplace. Many people believed and still do believe that President Obama was possibly born in Kenya or the Middle East or he was hiding something on his birth certificate. Even prominent people like Donald Trump believed there was something going on with his birth certificate. He is quoted saying in a March 28, 2011 interview with Fox News, “He’s [President Obama] spent millions of dollars trying to get away from this issue. Millions of dollars in legal fees trying to get away from this issue. And I’ll tell you what, I brought it up, just routinely, and all of a sudden a lot facts are emerging and I’m starting to wonder myself whether or not he was born in this country.”

Despite the speculation President Obama is a U.S. citizen. August 21, 1959 Hawaii became the 50th state of the United States. He was born on August 4, 1961 in Honolulu, HI. On April 27, 2011 President Obama released his birth certificate.

Consequences of Dis & Mis information:

• Distrust in the media specifically, the news 
• Undermining the United States government as an institution and the democratic process 
• Confirming people’s biases which, in many cases, push hate or distrust of certain groups 
• There can be no room left for the truth

Solutions:

• Fact check
• Don’t spread news unless you can verify it 
• Investigate sources websites, read the “about” page, look into the author 
• If you see disinformation spreading make it known that it is false information and provide reliable sources to the truth

Takeaway:

The main difference between disinformation & misinformation is INTENT 

Disinformation has the INTENT to spread false information