Different Types of Disinformation, its Political Consequences and Treatment Recommendations for Media Policy and Practice

Disinformation can generally be defined as the intentional spread of untrue information. If we want to distinguish different types of disinformation, the exact intent is one of the two key differentiating factors. The other is the degree to which information is altered.

The dimension of intentions has four general levels: (1) political mobilization, (2) political demobilization, (3) financial rewards and (4) altering or disrupting society. Regarding the nature and degree of falsehoods in disinformation, we distinguish three main levels: (1) fabrication, (2) manipulation and (3) decontextualization. It should be noted that disinformation can also be an important addition to democratic public spheres, for example in the shape of parodies. Facts are thus not the only indicator of quality journalism.

Disinformation is spread by only a small amount of accounts on social media (between 8% and 10% according to different studies), and often the disseminating accounts are unaware they are spreading disinformation. Disinformation is often perceived as credible, especially if it was transmitted through peers, but it is not likely to change attitudes and beliefs of the recipient.

We propose to shift the focus from trying to correct disinformation, towards building skills to critically evaluate information, especially among the youngest generations. In addition, we suggest working towards a framework of information integrity. The best medicine to fight disinformation is an informationy information to all segments of the population and therefore enables citizens to challenge disinformation they encounter.