What is dis/misinformation?

This is a series of commentaries and reflections on the phenomena of dis/misinformation. Further posts include discussion on the social construction of dis/misinformation, and the cultural construction of dis/misinformation, an exploration of important legal issues in dis/misinformation, and a consideration of the ethical issues in dis/misinformation.

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One defining characteristic of post-modern life is the omnipresence of communication. The presence of dis/misinformation in this environment is an increasingly worrying phenomenon. Misinformation is defined as information misrepresented. It can carry factual errors or inaccuracies, subjective statements, and is sometimes out of date (Southwell, Thorson, & Sheble, 2018). It is believed to be true both by those who produce it and those that share it. On the other hand, disinformation is misinformation that has been purposefully created to deceive its eventual consumer. In descriptive terms, we could say that the difference between misinformation and disinformation is one of intentionality.

Photo by Kayla Velasquez on Unsplash

Both terms and their definitions presume that truth has an objective reality. However, speaking specifically about critical information research, Stahl (2006) writes that “truth can never be an objective description of an external reality. All perception is always value-laden and based on individual and collective prejudices,” (p. 90). This reflects Nietzsche’s concept of perspectivism and Foucault’s ‘regime of truth,’ both of which theorise that reality cannot be separated from human experience. I was interested to read Ian Clark's (2016) thoughts on this, especially alongside a quote from Edward Carr; “The belief in a hard core of historical facts existing objectively and independently of the interpretation of the historian is a preposterous fallacy,” (2001, p. 6). I would agree that truth is a socially constructed phenomenon, but I think it helps us to deal with the issue more practically if we recognise that for many people, truth has an objective quality.

The ‘information society’ is the result of a multitude of communication technologies diffused into all aspects of existence in post-industrial life. When the production, dissemination, and consumption of information underlies all aspects of society, it becomes commodified, which is where the concept of the ‘knowledge economy’ arises. Dis/misinformation exists comfortably in the information society because it is socially constructed, and socially consumed (Marsh & Yang, 2018; Srinivasan, Finn, & Ames, 2017). This makes it difficult for mediators of information (such as information professionals) to involve ourselves because we are not party to the social aspects of information production and consumption, generally our primary function is an economic one.

As a profession, our efforts have largely been reactive. Instructional events such as like those advocated by Batchelor (2017) which include community events and credit-bearing courses fail to address the deeply social and economically-motivated nature of modern information transactions. Libguides on fake news and ‘post-truth’ don’t (and can’t) acknowledge the role that capitalism and an increasing fascist media machine play in our social information consumption. It is unrealistic to ask individuals to apply the ‘CRAPP test’ to every social media interaction they encounter, for example. Like Clark (2017) summarises, “this is a rather inadequate way of evaluating information and, for me, rather plays into the notion that the quality of the information can be assessed by following a simple check-box exercise. I don’t think this is realistic, useful or a desirable approach to take when critically appraising an information source.” 

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So rather than being reactive, I would argue that our efforts are more usefully directed towards proactive interventions. The need for this has been widely acknowledged, for example in the Internet Safety Strategy Green Paper which asserts that:

We want to ensure that schools develop children’s critical thinking skills so that young people are better able to recognise intentionally misleading information. In the long-term, giving our young people the tools they need to assess material online will be the single most effective antidote to fake news (HM Government, 2017, p. 26, the emphasis is mine).

Though, it must be said with this particular issue, our government has a tendency to promise one thing and deliver something else entirely. In the next few posts I'm aiming to break down dis/misinformation further by interrogating the social cultural, legal and ethical issues surrounding the phenomenon. I also want to explore our role as information professionals in this environment. Dis/misinformation is clearly a problem in contemporary society, and we have some professional responsibility to address it. But I want to find out exactly what that responsibility entails.

Batchelor, O. (2017). Getting out the truth: The role of libraries in the fight against fake news. Reference Services Review, 45(2), 143–148. https://doi.org/10.1108/RSR-03-2017-0006

Carr, E. H. (2001). What is history?. Basingstoke: Palgrave.

Clark, I. (2017) Fake news and the magic bullet. Infoism, http://infoism.co.uk/2017/07/fake-news-magic-bullet/

Clark, I. (2016) Information literacy won’t save us; or, fight fascism, don’t create a LibGuide. Infoism. http://infoism.co.uk/2016/12/information-literacy/

Marsh, E. J., & Yang, B. W. (2018). Believing things that are not true: A cognitive science perspective on misinformation. In B. G. Southwell, E. A. Thorson, & L. Sheble (Eds.), Misinformation and mass audiences (pp. 15–34). Austin: University of Texas Press.

Srinivasan, J., Finn, M., & Ames, M. (2017). Information determinism: The consequences of the faith in information. Information Society, 33(1), 13–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/01972243.2016.1248613

Southwell, B. G., Thorson, E. A., & Sheble, L. (2017). The persistence and peril of misinformation. American Scientist, 105(6), 372. https://doi.org/10.1511/2017.105.6.372

Stahl, B. C. (2006). On the difference or equality of information, misinformation, and disinformation: A critical research perspective. Informing Science, 9, 83–96.