Misinformation and disinformation

Rachel Armitage, Cristian Vaccari

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter (peer-reviewed)peer-review

Abstract

This chapter provides an overview of the debates surrounding misinformation and disinformation in political communication. The most commonly accepted distinction between types of problematic information is misinformation and disinformation. Indeed, the broad proliferation of mis/disinformation has arguably been accelerated by social media. The affordances of digital media exacerbate susceptibility to worldview-congruent mis/disinformation as they tend to facilitate instantaneous, uncritical behaviour based on little cognitive consideration. Political and media institutions can also affect the production, circulation, and impact of mis/disinformation. Approaches focused on news consumers are also relevant, with civic and digital education efforts seeking to equip social media users against online mis/disinformation. For instance, creating more friction in the user experience may reduce users’ inclination to mindlessly accept and share mis/disinformation that fits with their worldview. Attempts to inoculate users against mis/disinformation have also shown promise, as ‘fake news’ games have often improved identification of, and resistance to, misleading content.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationThe Routledge Companion to Media Disinformation and Populism
EditorsHoward Tumber, Silvio Waisbord
PublisherRoutledge
Chapter3
Pages38-48
Number of pages11
Edition1st
ISBN (Electronic)9781003004431
ISBN (Print)9780367435769
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 24 Mar 2021

Publication series

NameRoutledge Media and Cultural Studies Companions
PublisherRoutledge

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