UNESCO identifies three causes enabling the spread of misinformation: With the advent of the information age and the internet, information is spread more rapidly and often with the click of a mouse.( 8) Equally, the speed at which information is transmitted and the instant access to information which the internet provides has caused a rush to publish and be the first to transit information. This, alongside more insidious practices such as the intentional distribution for disinformation for economic or political gain, has created what the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation ( UNESCO) refers to as a “perfect storm”.( 9) To understand how to combat misinformation, it is useful to first understand how it spreads. Mal-information is information that is based on reality but is used to inflict harm on a person, organisation or country.( 7) Misinformation is information that is false, but the person who is disseminating it believes that it is true.( 6) “It is a deliberate, intentional lie, and points to people being actively disinformed by malicious actors”. Defining false information ( 4)ĭisinformation is information that is false, and the person who is disseminating it knows it is false. The current misinformation ecosystem, therefore, requires a critical assessment of the reasons for the dissemination of misinformation and the establishment of MIL campaigns.( 3) In effect, combatting misinformation should fall more within the realm of advocacy and education than that of litigation. The limited litigation in this space bears testament to this. However, this is likely to change as digital rights litigators engage in more strategic and test case litigation seeking to mitigate misinformation while protecting and promoting freedom of expression. Increasingly, strategies to combat misinformation should be more social and educational in their character in order to ensure that the right to freedom of expression is not violated by over-broad legislative provisions which criminalise or chill expression. The consequence is that digitally‑driven misinformation, in contexts of polarisation, risks eclipsing quality journalism, and the truth.( 2) Misinformation should not be confused with quality journalism and the circulation of trustworthy information which complies with professional standards and ethics.( 1) Misinformation and its ilk are not new but rather have become increasingly more powerful as they are fuelled by new technologies and rapid online dissemination. Module 8: ‘False News’, Misinformation and Propaganda The problem statement Misinformation, Disinformation and Mal-Information

Fake news propaganda and plain old lies