Adobe Systems 1 Disinformation & conspiracy beliefs Pmcb1013: Citizens, media and public opinion Karolína Bieliková 25.11.2024 Obsah obrázku kreslené, Dětské kresby, umění Popis se vygeneroval automaticky. Adobe Systems 2 Today’s agenda ̶Definitions and reasons ̶Looking at the supply side ̶Looking at the audience ̶What can be done? ̶ ̶ Obsah obrázku text, Grafika, klipart, plakát Popis se vygeneroval automaticky. Adobe Systems 3 Definitions ̶Often terms disinformation, misinformation, fake news and other used interchangably ̶Why should we care? oClear concepts allow better research oMisuse of the terms by political actors in their favour, results in delegitimization of legacy media o Obsah obrázku snímek obrazovky, kreslené, grafický design, umění Popis se vygeneroval automaticky. Adobe Systems 4 Misinformation Definitions Disinformation ̶Incorrect or misleading information ̶ ̶Created and disseminated unintentionally oMisunderstanding the information oSloppy journalism ̶Incorrect or misleading information ̶Created and/or disseminated deliberatively Adobe Systems 5 Obsah obrázku text, diagram, snímek obrazovky, Písmo Popis se vygeneroval automaticky. Adobe Systems 6 Fake news Definitions ̶Difficult to conceptualize ̶Consists of similar structural components as “real news” ̶Mimics the result of journalistic research that follows certain professional standards ̶ ̶ALSO used as label to discredit and delegitimize journalism and news media ̶Often used by populist actors – anti-elithist rhetoric ̶ ̶ ̶ Adobe Systems 7 Conspiracies and conspiracy theories Definitions ̶“Conspiracy” = secret plot by two or more powerful actors ̶typically attempt to usurp political or economic power, violate rights, infringe uponestablished agreements, withhold vital secrets, or alter bedrock institutions ̶ ̶“Conspiracy theories” = attempts to explain the ultimate causes of significant social and political events and circumstances with claims of secret plots by two or more powerful actors ̶Typically address governments but can accuse any group perceived as powerful and malevolent Adobe Systems 8 Obsah obrázku text, snímek obrazovky, Písmo, diagram Popis se vygeneroval automaticky. Adobe Systems 9 How did we get here? Adobe Systems 10 Current information environment How did we get here? ̶People consume more information from variety of sources ̶The information supply chain is more prone to mis/disinformation (Benner & Livingston, 2020) ̶Important role of social media – creation and dissemination ̶ Further: ̶New technologies allowing more trustworthy fake content (e.g. deepfakes) Adobe Systems 11 Role of trust How did we get here? ̶Growing distrust in mainstream media, which can lead to Alternative sources Avoidence of news ̶ ̶Alternative sources often build of the distrust and further fuel anti-establishment narratives ̶Creating “the spiral of distrust“ Adobe Systems 12 Role of trust How did we get here? ̶Distrust towards mainstream media can be also connected with distrust towards government and political actors (one elite) ̶This distrust if often embedded in not being heard by the political elite and the perception of us vs. them ̶ ̶Populist communication than can be used by both political actors and alternative sources, providing solutions ̶This further fuels the distrust spiral ̶ Adobe Systems 13 Role of trust How did we get here? Distrust towards media Alternative sources/ Disinformation Adobe Systems 14 Role of political interest How did we get here? ̶Connected to growing avoidence of news ̶The abundance of information available and inability to tell what is right can lead to overal disintirest ̶ ̶On the other hand people who seek out alternative sources have higher levels of political interest (specifically conspiracy theorists) ̶They are willing to look through variety of sources Adobe Systems 15 Role polarized topics How did we get here? ̶Disinformation and conspiracy theories thrive in topics that are already polarized (Van Aelst et al., 2017), e.g.: oClimate change oImmigration oVaccination oRights of marginalized communities ̶Accented also by populist communication Obsah obrázku Dětské kresby, obraz, umění Popis se vygeneroval automaticky. Adobe Systems 16 Looking at the supply side Obsah obrázku oblek, oblečení, osoba, Lidská tvář Popis se vygeneroval automaticky. Adobe Systems 17 Political What is the motivation? Financial ̶Disruption of election campaigns (e.g. favouring one candidate) ̶Disruption of foreign relations ̶Party politics ̶Destabilization of specific region ̶Targeting press freedom or freedom of speech ̶Connected to digital advertising (more clicks = more revenue) ̶"clickbait" articles relying on sensational and emotional headlines Adobe Systems 18 Supply side – Political actors (domestic) ̶Used to gain political points ̶Used as a communication tactic ̶ ̶Can be intentional or unintenional (e.g. when taking false information from media) Obsah obrázku kreslené, Lidská tvář, oblečení, obraz Popis se vygeneroval automaticky. Adobe Systems 19 Supply side – Politicical actors (foreign) ̶Foreign state actors and intelligence servises ocreate and spread disinformation without taking credit for doing so ̶Example: Russian (state) actors, e.g. Internet Research Agency ooperated Twitter and Facebook accounts for foreign interference in the 2016 US presidential elections (Bastos & Farkas, 2019; Guess & Lyons, 2020) ̶BUT the are aided by citizen efforts, in the sense that citizens often participate in the sharing of false information on social media (Golovchenko et al., 2018) ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ Adobe Systems 20 Supply side – Media actors ̶Misinformation may be created and disseminated also by legacy media and honest journalism (personal misperception, lack of time, limited verification skills (Lecheler & Kruikemeier, 2016)) ̶Audience mostly consume mis/disinformation from mainstream news media not social or partisan media (Tsfati et al., 2020) ̶Journalistic standards vs. Newsworthiness ̶ ̶Question of fact-checking, where false information is spread further ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ Adobe Systems 21 Supply side – Media actors ̶BUT some journalists deliberately distort facts and may have a personal or organizational intention to deceive ̶Hyper-partisan media may cover fake news content when it fits their agendas (Vargo et al., 2018) ̶Creation and dissemination can be motivated equally by political and financial motivation (clickbait) ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ Adobe Systems 22 Supply side – Media actors ̶Social media often further disseminate false information ̶Algorithms prefer false or intolerant, which makes I more visible to users (e.g. comment section) ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ Obsah obrázku text, plakát, bitva, Násilí Popis se vygeneroval automaticky. Adobe Systems 23 Supply side – Citizens ̶Citizens are now not only audience but also active producers of information ̶Online environment (social media) is a place where opinion leaders/influencers can become a credible source of information for some users ̶ ̶They can work in line with the mainstream media and act as a support (citizen journalist) or share narratives that different or actively countering them ̶ Adobe Systems 24 Supply side – Citizens ̶Primarily role is in dissemination of false information either by purpose or accidentally ̶ ̶Only minimal percentage of social media users creates content ̶But activities such as sharing, commenting or reacting can increase its reach Adobe Systems 25 Obsah obrázku text, snímek obrazovky, Písmo, číslo Popis se vygeneroval automaticky. Adobe Systems 26 Looking at the audience Obsah obrázku noviny, osoba, text Popis se vygeneroval automaticky. Adobe Systems 27 Why people believe in disinformation? Audience ̶Confirmation bias = “individuals tend to seek out reasons to dismiss or avoid engagement with information that is disconfirming of prior beliefs, while seeking out emotionally soothing truths that confirm convictions” à Consuming only sources that confirm our beliefs ̶ ̶Frustration with the information environment (e.g. abundance of information) --> hard to navigate what is correct/false ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ Adobe Systems 28 Why people believe in conspiracies? Audience ̶Can be embedded in distrust towards political actors and mainstream media = elite ̶Citizens are seeking answers to the question, why are their needs not fulfilled ̶ ̶Sensationalism and appel on emotions (feeling of fear, insecurity) e.g. your grandparents are worried about you ̶ ̶ Adobe Systems 29 Why people believe in conspiracies? Audience ̶People who already believe in particular conspiracy theories are likely to believe in others ̶They can be often interconnected without an obvious path, e.g. How essential oils lead to pastel Qanon? ̶Forming conspiracy thinking = any information is consumed through conspiracy lense ̶ Adobe Systems 30 Road to participation A group of people giving each other a high five Description automatically generated A blue drawing of a megaphone and speech bubble Description automatically generated A blue drawing of a person and a chat bubble Description automatically generated Adobe Systems 31 A group of people giving each other a high five Description automatically generated A blue drawing of a megaphone and speech bubble Description automatically generated A blue drawing of a person and a chat bubble Description automatically generated Mis/disinformation Conspiracies Adobe Systems 32 Who is motivated to participate? ̶Motivation for participation is highly connected to political interest ̶ ̶ Political interest = Motivation for participation ̶ Adobe Systems 33 Who is motivated to participate? ̶Distrustful people often rely only on the most traditional forms of participation = voting omotivated by their percieved duty as a citizen ̶Other forms of participation can be seen as useless, producing no results oIn Czechia this is a typical perception of demonstration Adobe Systems 34 ̶People consuming alternative sources often have high levels of political interest ̶This can lead to high motivation to participate, specifically anti systematic forms of participation (demonstrations, petitions etc.) ̶Connected to emotionality of disinformation ̶ Who is motivated to participate? Adobe Systems 35 Available solutions Obsah obrázku text, Lidská tvář, grafický design, Grafika Popis se vygeneroval automaticky. Adobe Systems 36 Media literacy Is there a way out? = ability to use, understand, and create media content in a variety of contexts ̶Considered an umbrella term for other literacies e.g.: news literacy and health media literacy ̶Often targeted towards youth and adolescent (as part of school curriculum) or seniors ̶ ̶Dependent on understanding the fastpace technology change ̶ ̶ Adobe Systems 37 Pre-bunking Is there a way out? ̶Using different tool to notify audience that information may be false --> getting ahead of the false information ̶Useful for audiences without set opinions on sources and news find me strategy ̶ ̶BUT people who tend to believe disinformation more are immune to the alerts (further proving their view) Adobe Systems 38 De-bunking Is there a way out? ̶Fact-checking as an option to correct false information after it has been consumed ̶Important role of trust in the debunking sources ̶Can have different effectivnes based on the disinformation being debunked as well as the communication style ̶ ̶Generally considered the las resort and more focus on the other two solutions