Types of misleading information

While the term misinformation is often used as a blanket term for any piece of misleading information, there are important distinctions to be made, as Connie explains:

“Misinformation is untrue or semi-truthful content presented as, and believed to be, fact. On the other hand, disinformation is false information deliberately intended to manipulate, harm, or mislead people.”

This is an important point. While most of us are unlikely to deliberately spread disinformation, we may well find ourselves sharing misinformation that we believe to be true. Much of the misinformation spread online is shared with good intentions.

For example, vaccines sometimes involve being injected with a weakened form of a virus so that your body’s immune system can learn to defend against it. Some people misinterpret this information and believe that vaccines can give you the disease that they are trying to protect you from. In an attempt to protect their friends and family, some people may share a post online warning people not to get vaccinated.

Although unintentional, spreading this kind of misinformation can cause a lot of damage. If people do not get vaccinated, they put themselves and those around them at greater risk of catching dangerous infectious diseases, so building public confidence in vaccines is essential.

Connie and her colleagues Dr Karen Cook and Dr Stella George co-created an educational animation with Canadian teenagers to try and build vaccine confidence. “Teenagers are the parents of the future, so young people’s perspectives on vaccination choices will influence future generations,” says Karen.

Deepfakes

Whether it’s spread intentionally or not, misleading and inaccurate information can take a number of forms, from tweets and Facebook posts to text messages and in-person conversations. One particularly potent form of false information is deepfakes.

“Deepfakes are audiovisual multimedia created or edited with the help of artificial intelligence algorithms,” explains Siwei, speaking on the Futurum podcast. Deepfakes can take the form of videos, pictures, or audio clips and are usually intended to trick viewers into believing that the subject of the deepfake has done or said something that didn’t actually happen.

For example, in early 2024, an audio clip of ex-US President Joe Biden was circulated in which he appeared to tell democrats not to vote. Luckily, Siwei was on hand to help expose the audio clip as a deepfake. “I helped some reporters authenticate that voice, and we used our algorithm to detect it as an AI generated voice,” he says. “By creating illusions of an individual’s presence and activities that did not occur in reality, deepfakes can influence our opinions or decisions.” This can become a particular issue around election time, when people are trying to decide who to vote for based on things they see and read online.

Effects on society

As we have seen, misinformation can have a profound impact on society, affecting our health and our democracy; but the impacts don’t stop there. “Misinformation can create division among people, and polarisation on topics such as climate change and vaccines has damaged public trust in science, which makes it harder for scientists to serve society,” says Ataharul, who is worried about the effects of misinformation on the food and agriculture industries.

“Agri-food misinformation creates anxiety, uncertainty and confusion among farmers and consumers,” explains Ataharul. Misinformation about controversial topics such as genetically modified crops, organic farming and animal welfare can affect everyone, from farmers who are sold poor quality seeds and fertilisers, to consumers who are led to buy unhealthy or unsustainable foods.

Spotting false information

As the effects of misinformation can be so wide ranging, it’s important to stay vigilant and to be critical of the information that we see, hear and read online. Shujun recommends using the “STOP, THINK, CHECK” technique from the Be Media Smart campaign. “Stop and take time to think,” he says.

When we’re online, we’re often consuming a torrent of content and information, and we rarely take the time to think about what we’re viewing, let alone to check if it’s accurate. “Check if the information comes from experts or find out if it has been endorsed by other reputable organisations, charities or media outlets.”

There are other methods for spotting misleading information and evaluating what you read online. For example, in his Futurum article, Siwei tells us how we can detect deepfakes, while Connie recommends the five-in-five technique, which encourages us to: 1) read like a scientist, 2) look for a consensus, 3) find original sources, 4) examine source quality and 5) evaluate the author’s expertise. Armed with these tools and techniques, we can feel more confident navigating the murky waters of social media, steering clear of misinformation and setting our course by the compass of our own critical thinking and vigilance.

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