User:Dc10732/Misinformation

Article body
History

Social media platforms allow for easy spread of misinformation. Post election surveys in 2016 suggest that many individuals who intake false information on social media believe them to be factual. The specific reasons why misinformation spreads through social media so easily remain unknown. A 2018 study of Twitter determined that, compared to accurate information, false information spread significantly faster, further, deeper, and more broadly. Similarly, a research study of Facebook found that misinformation was more likely to be clicked on than factual information.

Online Misinformation

In recent years, the proliferation of misinformation online has drawn widespread attention. More than half of the world's population had access to the Internet in the beginning of 2018. Digital and social media can contribute to the spread of misinformation – for instance, when users share information without first checking the legitimacy of the information they have found. People are more likely to encounter online information based on personalized algorithms. Google, Facebook and Yahoo News all generate newsfeeds based on the information they know about our devices, our location, and our online interests. Although two people can search for the same thing at the same time, they are very likely to get different results based on what that platform deems relevant to their interests, fact or false. Various social media platforms have recently been criticized for encouraging the spread of false information, such as hoaxes, false news, and mistruths. It is responsible with influencing people's attitudes and judgment during significant events by disseminating widely believed misinformation. Furthermore, online misinformation can occur in numerous ways, including rumors, urban legends, factoids, etc. However, the underlying factor is that it contains misleading or inaccurate information. Moreover, users of social media platforms may experience intensely negative feelings, perplexity, and worry as a result of the spread of false information. According to a recent study, one in ten Americans has gone through mental or emotional stress as a result of misleading information posted online. Spreading false information can also seriously impede the effective and efficient use of the information available on social media.

Differences between misinformation, disinformation, and malformation

Misinformation is false information that is not meant to hurt anyone. Those who do not  know that a piece of information is untrue, for instance, might disseminate it on social media in an effort to help.

Disinformation, as opposed to an honest mistake, is spread by someone who is actively attempting to deceive. Furthermore, in addition to causing harm directly, disinformation can also cause indirect harm by undermining trust and obstructing the capacity to effectively communicate information with one another. Targeted disinformation can be hard to recognize since it might be entirely made up, taken out of context on purpose, exaggerated, or omit crucial details, all of which create an inaccurate impression. Also, it's not only limited to text anymore because it's getting easier to edit photos and movies. There are also attempts to fundamentally misrepresent reality, such as when figures or quotations are taken out of context, a minority opinion is presented as the majority opinion, or the scope of specific articles is purposely manipulated.

Malinformation is true knowledge that is disseminated with malicious intent. This includes sensitive material that is disseminated in order to hurt someone or their reputation.