What is Misinformation?

Manipulation Tactic: Misinformation

Category: Cognitive Manipulation

Red Flag Indicators

Misinformation is providing false, inaccurate, or misleading information that is spread with or without the intent to deceive.

Misinformation can also arise from simple errors, a misunderstanding of facts, or when information (like rumors) are shared unverified.

Psychological Characteristics

Cognitive Biases

These are systematic patterns of deviation from norm or rationality in judgment.

Confirmation Bias: The tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way that confirms or supports one's pre-existing beliefs or values. People readily accept misinformation that aligns with what they already think is true.

Motivated Reasoning: People often process information in a way that helps them achieve a desired conclusion, rather than an accurate one. This is often driven by the desire to reinforce personal, group, or political identities.

Emotional Appeals

Content that elicits strong emotions—especially negative ones like anger, fear, or outrage—is more likely to be shared quickly and widely. 

Emotional responses bypass critical thinking, leading people to share content impulsively without verifying its accuracy.

Social and Identity Factors

Social Norms and Identity Signaling: People often share information, even if they suspect it's false, to signal their allegiance to a particular social or political group or to fit in with their online social circles (echo chambers).

Consensus Effect: Seeing a piece of content shared widely or endorsed by many people (even if those shares are inorganic, like from bots) can create an illusion of consensus, making individuals more likely to trust and share it themselves.

Trust in Source: While fact-checking is important, individuals often rely on quick examination, like whether the information came from a trusted friend or a familiar-looking source, without scrutinizing the content itself.

Common Examples and Manipulation Tactics

Misinformation is rarely 100% fabricated; it often uses real elements that are presented deceptively. The tactics employed leverage psychological vulnerabilities to make false content appear credible.

False Context: Genuine content (e.g., a photo, quote, or video) is shared with an accompanying false contextual information to frame it differently.

Misleading Content: Misleading use of information to frame an issue or individual, such as selectively cropping photos or choosing quotes/statistics out of context.

Imposter Content: Genuine sources (e.g., news sites, famous people) are impersonated through fake websites, social media accounts, or manipulated logos to lend credibility to false stories.

Manipulated Content: Genuine images or videos are altered (e.g., photoshopping, editing audio/video) to deceive and change the original meaning. Deepfakes are an advanced example.

Fabricated Content: Content that is 100% false—entirely new articles, videos, or claims designed to deceive and do harm (disinformation).

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