Keeping us honest: A guide to understanding misinformation vs. disinformation

Misinformation and disinformation is unfortunately pervasive in today’s digital age. False information spreads quickly through social media, traditional news outlets, as well as casual conversations. This can have serious ripple effects — it deceives people, weakens trust in institutions, divides communities, and even influences major decisions like voting or health choices.

That’s why it’s so important to understand the impact of what we share or support. If we don’t take the time to verify information, we unintentionally risk spreading harm. Being informed and learning how to assess sources helps us share responsibly and stand behind causes with confidence, cultivating trust and fostering meaningful conversations.

Let’s explore the difference of misinformation vs. disinformation, its impact on society, and how we can be powerful agents of change in calling out fake news and holding violators accountable. 

What is misinformation?

Misinformation is when false or inaccurate information is spread without the intent to harm an individual or institution. 

The spread of misinformation is often naive and typically occurs when content is misunderstood, there is little time to verify the information, or when information is obtained from unreliable sources. Misinformation can spread fast, especially in the current digital age where 5.35 billion people worldwide have access to the internet and social media platforms. The dissemination of false information also erodes trust in public institutions, individuals, organizations and democracies.

Ways of spreading misinformation

Misinformation can spread through multiple channels. Here are some of the main ways misinformation can circulate.

Word of mouth

Word of mouth is the most common way news is spread. Since verbally-relayed news doesn’t rely on the written word, it can usually lead to exaggerated or distorted information, resulting in inaccurate and false narratives that are unreliable. It’s also difficult to trace to the original source.

Online sources

As of 2022, it was reported that only 7% of Americans are reading the daily newspaper, instead turning to the internet as their main source. About 37% of the U.S. population gets its news from various social media platforms, including TikTok, Instagram, and X. 

Information on social media platforms is often in the form of memes, graphics, headlines, or short descriptions. Anyone who has access to the internet has the ability to share the information immediately, potentially to a large audience. 

A sampling of research shows that 20% of TikTok video results include misinformation and this plays a role in shaping the perspectives of young teens. 

Fake local news websites are also on the rise in the U.S., currently outnumbering the amount of legitimate daily local newspapers. The content on these sites commonly come from “partisan entities or those producing clickbait content for maximum profit.”

Breaking news

Breaking news is delivered under tight deadlines, which can sometimes lead to data void issues — gaps in reporting that are eventually filled, but can cause misinformation to spread in the interim. Modern day breaking news on online news and social media outlets can have sensationalized headlines, meant to catch the attention of readers and increase the number of likes and shares on a post. News consumed this way isn’t always checked for thoroughness and credibility, which can lead to the spread of fake news and misinformation.

Recommendation algorithms

Our social media feeds are constantly being curated to align with our interests and how we interact with certain brands, themes, and people. This creates an algorithm which prioritizes our interests and delivers similar content for our consumption. Algorithms can’t distinguish between truths, falsehoods, sarcasm, cynicism, or different perspectives. This kind of unfiltered content can also lead to the spread of misinformation

What is disinformation?

Disinformation is the deliberate spread of false information designed to manipulate beliefs and push an ideology or agenda. It is strategic in nature, and aims to damage reputations, disrupt democratic processes, and deepen societal polarization through propaganda. 

The key difference between disinformation and misinformation is while misinformation is spread inadvertently without the intention to dismantle public opinion, disinformation is spread by organizations and individuals to perpetuate falsehoods.

Like misinformation, disinformation also lowers trust in public institutions and democracies. Research suggests that the primary goal of disinformation is to divide people on issues of conflict of any kind, elections, and health. 

Examples of disinformation include:

• Calling coronavirus the ‘Chinese Virus’: When the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, many blamed China for manufacturing the virus. The origins of the virus are still in dispute today. But back then, many leaders including Donald Trump began to call the coronavirus the ‘Chinese virus,’ which fueled Anti-Asian hate and racism in not just the United States but all over the world. 
• International interference in elections: A research study suggests that Russian internet “trolls” influenced the 2016 U.S. elections to sway voters from Hillary Clinton to Donald Trump. The disinformation campaign leveraged fake social media accounts, targeted ads, and fabricated stories on divisive issues to manipulate the American electorate.

Ways of spreading disinformation

The following are some common channels used to spread disinformation.

Encrypted messaging services

The use of WhatsApp and other encrypted messaging services contribute to the spread of disinformation. In 2020, WhatsApp introduced forwarding labels so messages could be forwarded at an unlimited scale to groups of any size. Experts say private messaging apps are devoid of or lacking content moderation, making them fertile ground for false information.

Social media

Sophisticated social media campaigns are also responsible for the spread of disinformation. There have been times when foreign governments or companies have bought fake bots online to influence election results. Fabricated content like doctored images using artificial intelligence is another way disinformation and fake news spreads.

Disinformation news sites

There are specific AI-generated news sites dedicated to the spread of disinformation. A Newsguard tracker discovered that there are over 1,000 websites produced by AI spreading false narratives, operating in numerous languages. These sites also include fabricated images.

Strategies for tackling mis and disinformation

As misinformation and disinformation continue to proliferate, it’s important to highlight how we can combat fake news in the global digital age. Here are some strategies that legislators, organizations, and individuals should consider.

Governments must cultivate a transparent information ecosystem

It’s important that governments worldwide come together to fight the spread of fake news. Policymakers, advocates, and leaders must emphasize the importance of transparency to foster trust in democratic processes and institutions. 

A UN report suggests that states should regulate digital platform transparency by requiring that organizations enforce online community standards, reveal how personal data is used for targeted ads, and improve transparency in political ad funding. 

One example is the EU Digital Services Act (DSA). Adopted in 2022, the landmark ruling mandates safer online spaces by holding platforms accountable for illegal content and ensuring transparency. Platforms must remove harmful content, disclose ad funding, and explain algorithms. Stricter rules apply to large platforms, including audits, with fines of up to 6% of global revenue.

Increasing media literacy programs

Media literacy initiatives are essential to educate people on the dangers of misinformation and disinformation. These programs should be accessible to people of all socioeconomic backgrounds, but also engage policymakers, educators, journalists, and others on the importance of truth and how we can hold people in positions of power accountable. 

Some states have enacted laws that require media literacy curriculum in public schools. The News Literacy Project is a nonprofit organization building a national movement to stop misinformation and disinformation. The NLP offers educational online resources and works with states and educators to implement news literacy programs for students. Increasing the adoption of these types of programs will create more informed students and members of society.

Raising awareness of the spread of wrong or false information

Researchers emphasize the need to engage civil society and journalists to counter the spread of false information. This is especially important in areas where human rights abuses are high. For example, Rana Ayyub is an Indian journalist whose investigations have uncovered how rampant Islamophobia and communal violence is in India. 

Any person can spotlight damaging false information and advocate for credible, trustworthy news by creating a petition on Change.org. Petitions are powerful tools that strengthen any campaign to push for reform. 

For example, this petition started in September 2024 calls for legislation to ban deepfakes and AI interference ahead of the next Australian federal election. Deep fakes are either doctored images, videos, or audio meant to mislead people. Currently, this campaign has over 25,000 supporters.

Support and start accurate, trustworthy petitions

Misinformation and disinformation is damaging and discrediting. It’s imperative that we fact-check a petition before we sign it or understand an issue before we start our own.