The Nature and Circulation of False Information

AbstractThis chapter focuses on the nature of disinformation (false information spread with intent to deceive) and misinformation (false information spread without specific deceptive intent), inquiring into processes that increase their circulation online. As befits any study of media systems, it addresses interconnections between technologies, media forms, wider media and political environments, people and impacts. It opens with a discussion on the role of deception in citizen-political communications. This highlights the long-standing debate on whether political leaders should lie to their citizens, addressing evidence of such activity in the areas of national security and election campaigns. It then discusses the nature and scale of two key forms of contemporary disinformation: fake news and deepfakes. Widening the focus beyond intentionally deceptive forms to false information in general, the chapter then examines the dynamics of spreading false information online, discussing why people engage with such processes.