Randy Stein, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona and Caroline Meyersohn, California State University, Long BeachPointing out that someone else is wrong is a part of life. And journalists need to do this all the time – their job includes helping sort what’s true from what’s not. But what if people just don’t like hearing corrections? […]
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Carlos Diaz Ruiz, Hanken School of Economics Deceptive online content is big business. The digital advertising market is now worth €625 billion, and their business model is simple: more clicks, views or engagement means more money from advertisers. Incendiary, shocking content – whether it is true or not – is an easy way to get […]
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Isobelle Clarke, Lancaster University The scientific method is rigorous. Claims and premises are supported with evidence. The peer review system is designed to ensure that research is scrutinised by experts before publication. And whenever researchers lack certainty, they’ll emphasise that “further research is necessary” to land on the truth. Unfortunately, fake science websites are learning […]
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Herman Wasserman, University of Cape Town The large-scale contamination of the public sphere by rumours, hate speech, dangerous conspiracy theories and orchestrated deception campaigns is causing widespread concern around the world. These ills are collectively referred to as “information disorder” . The disorder results from a range of factors. They include a rapidly changing media […]
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The information landscape in Africa – as elsewhere in the world – has expanded exponentially over the last decade. The proliferation of platform media, including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, has been instrumental in this expansion. This has created important new debating spaces. These platforms have now become essential for political campaigns across the continent. In […]
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Peter Cunliffe-Jones, University of Westminster; Alan Finlay, University of the Witwatersrand, and Anya Schiffrin Misinformation, best understood as false or misleading information whether or not it was intended to mislead, has long been recognised as a problem worldwide. Together with disinformation, which is spread deliberately to misinform or mislead, it constitutes a key part of […]
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Herman Wasserman, University of Cape Town The prevalence of disinformation about the coronavirus pandemic has prompted Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) to warn that: We’re not just fighting an epidemic; we’re fighting an infodemic. The infodemic is defined as an overabundance of information, some accurate and some not, during […]
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UNESCO has published two policy briefs that offer insights into COVID-19-related disinformation. It notes that COVID-19 has led to a parallel pandemic of disinformation that directly impacts lives and livelihoods around the world. Falsehoods and misinformation have proven deadly and sowed confusion about life-saving personal and policy choices. The first policy paper, Disinfodemic: Deciphering COVID-19 […]
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