Watch this 5-minute animation video to unpack the components of disinformation, how it threatening to our society, and how we counter it!
PlayDoublethink Lab
In this era of information explosion, attention has become a scarce and precious asset. For all the brands, companies, and politicians to gain traction on social media platforms, they need to capture YOUR attention. This is often accomplished by creating and disseminating compelling information on the platform, even if the information is not entirely true.
moreWhat do we know about disinformation? Disinformation is factually inaccurate and preys on prejudice, bias and emotions. In this, it is actually very similar to a rumor. Think about rumors flying around in your office or school pantry. Who is getting a promotion? Who doesn’t like working with whom? Studies have tried to understand why people believe in unverified information like rumors and disinformation.
Dr. Nicholas DiFonzo, in his publication “The Watercooler Effect: A Psychologist Explores the Extraordinary Power of Rumors”, explains that rumors help people make sense of the world and cope with their anxieties amid uncertainty.
That is why we believe in them. According to DiFonzo, people tend to believe in rumors which conform to their beliefs or which they have heard on multiple occasions. People also tend to foster negative rumors of outside groups to reassure ourselves. With the Internet and social media, disinformation intentionally fabricated to cause harm and chaos has become more malicious than rumor.
In the following Video Podcast, Dr. Nuurrianti Binti Jalli will share how disinformation weaponizes our psychological biases and utilizes cultural differences to gain power. Dr. Ross Tapsell will also introduce how Internet accessibility can affect the spread and influence of disinformation.
Age
Information Source
Educational Level
Need for Cognition (NFC)
Personality Traits
Analytical Thinking
Emotion
Moral Value
Gender
Understanding disinformation is not just about determining whether information is true or false. Propaganda and conspiracy theories are examples of disinformation that defy such classification. Indeed, many instances of propaganda and conspiracy theories contain elements of truth, designed to create or exploit divisions in their audiences. This section will focus on identifying propaganda and conspiracy theories, and their potential to cause harm and conflict.
Video Interview with Dr. Luwei Rose Luqiu
Academics have defined propaganda as the deliberate, systematic attempt to shape perceptions, manipulate cognitions, and direct behavior to fulfill the desired intent of the organization or people who create the propaganda. Play the video and learn the various kinds of propaganda, the harm, and how to counter it.
Glittering Generality
An emotionally appealing phrase closely associated with highly valued concepts and beliefs, such as freedom or national rejuvenation, that carries conviction without any supporting information.
Example
During WW2 , a poster using a cultural icon of a working woman flexing her muscles with the title “We Can Do It!” stirred up a positive connotation of working women and acknowledged that women can help with war.
Bandwagoning
Attempting to persuade the target audience to join in with the desired course of action because “everyone else is doing it”.
Example
Bandwagoning is sometimes used to describe the behavior of voters during elections and polling. Studies show that voters sometimes indicate support for a political party simply because that party appears to be popular in recent polls.
Loaded Language
Using words/phrases with strong emotional implications (positive or negative) to influence an audience.
Example
Nazi Germany sent out numerous ant-Jewish posters to influence public opinions. One of them portrayed a finger pointing at a Jewish symbol, with the words, “Der ist schuld am Kriege!” (He is guilty of the war.)
Cherry Picking
The act of pointing to individual cases that seem to confirm a particular position while ignoring a significant portion of cases that may contradict that position.
Example
The former Soviet Union celebrated International Workers’ Day with propaganda artworks, by showing delighted couples or proud workers. It used these artworks to present a positive side of the Soviet-type economy, while hiding the statistical evidence of poverty.
Whataboutism
Turning criticism back onto the critic to avoid taking responsibility. The usual syntax is "What about...?" followed by an issue on the opponent's side which may or may not be related to the original issue.
Example
Chinese diplomats who used Twitter to highlight the racial inequalities and social unrest in the United States in response to criticism of the Chinese government's mistreatment of ethnic minorities.
Red Herring
Introducing irrelevant material, so that attention is diverted away from the primary issue.
Example
In a parliamentary debate, the opposition argues that the government should have a plan for healthcare, and the government counters by saying the opposition failed to raise taxes on cigarettes in the past.
Appeal to Authority
Stating that a claim is true or false simply because a valid authority/expert on the issue supports it, without any other supporting evidence.
Example
Climate change deniers used to use this tactic by referring to scientists who spoke out against global warming, or argued that the science was not conclusive.
Being "of the people"
The speaker presents themselves as an ordinary person who can understand and empathize with the concerns of everyday people.
Example
During election campaigns, politicians may release pictures or videos of them eating street food with ordinary people in order to show how “down to earth” they are. Having pictures taken with babies is also popular.
Create Problems, then Offer Solutions
A tactic propagandists use is to create a problem, or a “situation” that causes panic and anxiety, so that they can use it as an excuse to implement an agenda by selling it as a “solution” for you.
Example
Nazi Germany portrayed Jews as criminals to persuade the public of the need to commit genocide.
Self-blaming
Promoting the idea that individuals are to blame for their own misfortunes, rather than due to a lack of support from institutions, which saps their confidence and prevents them from taking action.
Example
Government narratives sometimes suggest that the way to achieve a better life is through hard work, while ignoring systemic causes of inequality and poverty, thus making people who are poor and in suffering feel that they have only themselves to blame.
Propaganda and conspiracy theories are usually disguised in random content. It’s difficult to spot them, or to understand their goals and techniques. Therefore, narrative analysis becomes important when encountering propaganda and conspiracy theory.
moreEthan Zuckerman
Dictators love making people feel powerless, because it keeps them safe. Powerless people will never challenge those in power. And disinformation wants to keep us powerless, fighting to assert that's true rather than challenging those who are in power. This website helps us learn how disinformation works, why and how people lie and how we might fight back. But we must remember WHY we fight back.
more
Want to know more about how to counter disinformation or misinformation? Here are more resources for you!
Tools
Monitoring and Reporting
Fact Checking
Training
Fact Checking
Campaign Design
Monitoring and Reporting
Disinfo Workshop
If you wish to hold a disinfo workshop, please take a look or contact Doublethink Lab
Bianca Ysabelle Franco
MA Sociology Student at the Department of Sociology of the University of the Philippines Diliman
Eko Juniarto
Co-founder of MAFINDO, Masyarakat Anti Fitnah Indonesia (Indonesian Anti Hoax Civil Society Organization).
Director of the Center for Civic Media at MIT, and an Associate Professor of the Practice at the MIT Media Lab.
Harpre Ke
Analyst of Doublethink Lab
Jonathan Corpus Ong
Associate Professor of Global Digital Media at the University of Massachusetts - Amherst
Assistant Professor Associate Head Director of MA in International Journalism Studies, Hong Kong Baptist University
Mikey Biddleston
Postgraduate Researcher and Associate Lecturer in the School of Psychology, University of Kent, UK
Professor at the Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance at the University of Canberra
Nick Monaco
Chief Innovation Officer and Director of China Research at Miburo Solutions
Assistant Professor of Communication Studies, Northern State University
Senior Lecturer, Department of Gender, Media and Culture Director, ANU Malaysia Institute College of Asia and the Pacific,The Australian National University
Tim Niven
Research Scientist at Doublethink Lab
Trinh Huu Long
Co-Director, Legal Initiatives for Vietnam
A social dialogue campaign. We hope that people will be able to discuss politics and their everyday lives with the people around them, to exchange information and their different ideas, so that they can understand each other, find things that they can agree on, and explore ways in which we can build a bright future together.
First Draft works to empower people with knowledge, understanding, and tools to build resilience against harmful, false, and misleading information.
A Taiwan based organization founded by the Association for Quality Journalism and Taiwan Media Watch. The Center’s missions are to conduct fact checks on information relevant to public affairs as well as to improve the information ecology and news quality of Taiwan.
Focusing on fact checks on information relevant to public affairs as well as to improve the information ecology and news quality of Taiwan.
The Taiwan Foundation for Democracy (TFD) is the first national democracy assistance foundation to be established in Asia. It is devoted to strengthening democracy and human rights in Taiwan and abroad, and to being an active participant in the global democratic network, building on Taiwan's experience to advance a new wave of democratization worldwide.
