Student fellow Caleb Clayton from the ONU Institute for Civics and Public Policy (ICAPP) released the following "Critical Questions" article on DigitalCommons@ONU. Clayton poses and answers three questions, and provides further reading on the subject.

By Caleb Clayton

Introduction

The digital age and the birth of social media have changed how people receive news. New technologies make communicating events an instantaneous process. Generating information is far easier than ever, and the amount of information in the world has grown exponentially since the turn of the millennium. Information constantly generates, making it impossible to process and verify it as it appears.

Social media allows people to instantly share information, exposing it to anybody on the same platform. Despite the benefits of sharing information instantly, not all information is truthful. Though they are hardly new concepts, misinformation, disinformation, and “fake news” have become lasting by-products of the current media climate.

Question 1: What are misinformation, disinformation, and “fake news”?

Misinformation, disinformation, and fake news are associated terms but distinct concepts. Misinformation is an umbrella term to cover all three, but misinformation is simply false or misleading information. Misinformation leads to false information spreading, regardless of intention. Disinformation generates false information from deliberate and biased narratives, often with political implications. Disinformation is a more malicious form of misinformation created intentionally to serve a purpose, often through propaganda. It utilizes charged messaging and framing to deliver misinformation in a designated manner.

Fake news culminates from misinformation and disinformation, manipulating people’s perceptions of the events that construct their reality. Though the term “fake news” originated elsewhere, the phrase garnered broad appeal after former President Donald Trump coined the phrase. Fake news has taken on several meanings; President Trump suggested that fake news is uncomplimentary reporting that is distracting or insignificant, mainly to discredit the success of someone of an opposing ideology. Fake news also derives from political parody, as outlets like The Onion or television shows like The Daily Show can release content shedding a satirical light on political events. These exaggerated interpretations of events can be republished by others as factual reporting, leading to audience misinterpretation. The primary component of fake news is the mimicry of media content without credibility or fact-checking. Despite the vagueness of its true definition, misinformation and disinformation are essential to fake news.

Read the complete article at https://digitalcommons.onu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1019&context=...