UNDERSTANDING THE DIFFERENCE
At the very core, misinformation and disinformation are attempting to win the very same battle, in distributing invalid and incorrect information. After creation, this information is then spread across our most visited websites like Google, Youtube, and Facebook. These internet giants have realized the larger agenda and have begun to algorithmically program servers to hide and select certain information they deem necessary. Realizing a digital era and how we are inherently given our rights from the constitution, it appears those right are simply signed off. When registering for these social media platforms, they are inherently trying to protect themselves from large suits and the collective power of the people.
By accepting Facebook’s 10-page terms of use and an 11-page data policy, your rights are now gifted to someone else. You no longer have the same freedom of speech or freedom to remain private and secure. Nonetheless, Facebook and other internet giants are profiting immensely off the sale of your data and information posted. All communications are sold.
To realize the risks, visit Thedangerofdata.com
Misinformation
Misinformation refers to the instance of an “honest mistake.” When there is a media outlet that publishes an article, video, or any other multi-media with an unintentional error, this is the root cause of the spread of misinformation. Misinformation can be spread person to person, and from one social media platform to another. This is seen daily from sharing invalid and incorrect media circulating by “honest accident.” Usually, misinformation is spread by reputable media companies that are rushing to get their story out to the wire, and have yet to verify or fact check their article.
You see, the media has been in a race to publish the first article but worries less about the content inside of them. I think most can agree that the contents of quality outperform speed. For the media companies, it is all about who hit the story first, and who discovered it first. We need to revert to the times of quality analysis and reasoning.
Disinformation
Disinformation refers to the deliberate spread of invalid, incorrect information and is usually coupled with the motive of spreading confusion, fear, and lies. Disinformation is scarier than misinformation because this is coupled with a harmful motivation. Individuals are able to spread disinformation at a faster rate than ever before with the use of social media. With the use of bots and fake accounts, individuals are now able to amplify their messages of disinformation by systemic manipulation. The regulation and oversight of these smaller accounts and fake users has been harder than ever before with algorithms that are able to open and close fake user accounts in magnitude. With a “click farm” an individual can produce over 500 likes, shares, repost, and other interactive features to display a false sense of credibility. To further understand this, perform some research on click farms. To then realize the spread, everyday citizens receive fear from viewing these messages, and to cope, they participate in sharing the information thinking it makes them a “good human to prevent danger” but in reality, they are just simply contributing to the madness.
Realizing what is disinformation and misinformation is crucial in today’s society. At StopFakeMedia, we encourage our viewers to perform due diligence in their social media searches before sharing. The consequences associated with sharing a simple post may be overlooked. Please help us fight this informational warfare, and stop the spread.
