Disinformation is deceptive, misleading, or false information. It is purposely proliferated today on social media to manipulate people with its misleading content. This includes fabricated photos or videos intended to be distributed to people online.

People are always advised to verify or question the credibility of a dubious material. That is why before sharing a content, a social media user has the responsibility to investigate if the information is true or fake.

You might be confused about the difference among disinformation, misinformation and mal-information. Disinformation is intentionally or deliberately propagated to deceive a target audience. Meanwhile, misinformation is also an inaccurate and false information but proliferation is unintentional. And mal-information is based on reality which intention is to destroy someone’s or an organization’s reputation.

What do you need to know more about disinformation?

Studies say that the elements of disinformation include: being manipulative, intention to mislead and proliferation. Purveyors or perpetrators can use the different social media platforms as a way to deliberately disseminate whatever material they have.

In fact, social media is the fastest way they have for this dirty work. Now that everyone seems to rely on what they read online, the most vulnerable are the ones who use the different platforms. This has become a problem in the society for quite long time already. In this era of advanced technology, anyone can be a victim of doctored photos or videos. The efforts of these peddlers to manipulate people must be defeated by our own efforts to become responsible in using the internet.

What can you do to confirm the truthfulness of an information or news?

News outlets and groups are now taking the steps to help the social media users determine the accuracy of the information. This is an effort to make the public informed. Now, if you are thinking of what you can do to debunk a misleading news or claim, find help from the ones who are fact-checkers. You can also search the certain news and verify it through reading articles from certified news agencies.

Look at the credibility of the author of such information. Usually, if it is from a news outlet, you can easily check if it is true or not. Go through the article and read the details. Articles with facts as a support would already attest to the truthfulness of the news. But sometimes, several individuals share a content and you cannot tell if what they are telling is a fact. When you encounter this, you can still check the profile of the author. If not substantiated with facts, rely on the websites or groups that do fact-checking. Don’t easily get swayed by a deceiving content.

Inspect the details of a suspicious content. Search for tools online that search for the same image that appears on the internet. Similar photos from the past are usually used by propagandists, trace these photos to identify if it’s just an old photo.

Always consider where the news came from. Like what is stated above, read the full context. Disinformation as intentional might use headlines to gain your attention. Don’t just read the headline, look for more information that will support it. If a friend or someone you know sent it to you, ask for any credible source or links where you can read the whole article from a trusted agency. Be mindful of the dates. The news might be true but it can be used to malign a person in the current situation.

Distinguish a parody or satire from a false information. Satire is the use of humor and exaggerations usually to criticize. Most of the time, the context of a satire is obvious. Whatever content is involved whether satire or false news; you need to be careful before sharing it to a venue with a wider scope of audience. 

You might be asking yourself if it is possible to stop disinformation. The answer might depend on what course of action you are willing to take. You cannot totally prevent disinformation from spreading in a single effort of reporting it to fact-checkers. Of course, you need to initially verify the authenticity of the information but once confirmed that it is false, be willing to educate the people around you.

The cycle continues if you become an instrument of its proliferation. Does that happen? You did not intend to be part of the false information but you somehow help in the cycle? The answer is yes. When you share it without being careful, you are becoming part of the problem.

Research suggests that in order to fight disinformation, everyone needs to critically think. If an information’s legitimacy is questionable, we need to be skeptical. People who are well-oriented on the possible disinformation they see will not easily be convinced, misled and manipulated. 

Conclusion

Different agencies and news outlets encourage the public to evaluate the source of the information. There are criteria when you do fact-checking such as evaluating the currency, accuracy and purpose of the information.

Document any evidence that you can. If a person proliferates misleading and false information, that person needs to be held accountable. Take note that they can be punished for what they do. This is also a reminder for all to be vigilant with what they post and share online.

Disinformation is a serious problem that we are facing today. If this continues, the next generations can be affected. Our negligence to take appropriate actions will create another chaos in the future. When fake news purveyors take advantage of the platforms commonly available to us, take advantage of the tools that are also available on the internet to test the reliability and relevance of the information.

The probability of a successful elimination depends on our effort to combat fake news propaganda. The more we educate ourselves and the people we know, the more we become critically aware of scrutinizing the content or material. It might be difficult to totally eliminate the existence of fake news, but people can work hand in hand to minimize it until it automatically just stops because of people’s logical and critical thinking.