Managing Misinformation and Conflicting Information

Austin, Lucinda; Meer, Toni G.L.A. van der; Lee, Yen-I; Spangler, Jim

doi:10.4324/9780429330650-12

Cited by 4 publications

(6 citation statements)

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“…In particular, it has been observed that conspiracy theories and misinformation can negatively impact willingness to get vaccinated [15,16]. Similar detrimental effects of misinformation on crisis management have been observed in other crisis situations; prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, studies have shown that exposure to misinformation can adversely affect individuals' willingness to vaccinate [2,3,17].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 78%

“…In order to make sense of this information, individuals must create their own frame of reference to interpret its meaning and gain clarity [1]. This situation has facilitated the spread of misinformation, which has become a significant and perilous problem, particularly when society is facing significant challenges [2,3]. A recent example is the COVID-19 pandemic, during which the consequences of encountering unfiltered information in times of health, economic, and social crises have been highlighted.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Misinformation as a Societal Problem in Times of Crisis: A Mixed-Methods Study with Future Teachers to Promote a Critical Attitude towards Information

2023

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Global society is facing major challenges, which are to be met by pursuing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Digitalization processes bring many opportunities for achieving SDGs, but they also bring pitfalls. For example, on one hand, social media makes it easier for more parts of society to participate. On the other hand, the ability to rapidly circulate unfiltered information can lead to the spread of misinformation and subsequently interfere with the achievement of SDGs. This effect could be observed during the COVID-19 pandemic and continues to occur in the context of climate change. Young people are especially likely to be exposed to misinformation on social media. With this in mind, it is enormously important for schools to prepare young people to critically handle the overload of information available online. The aim of this study was to provide future middle and high school teachers with a fruitful approach to foster a critical attitude towards information in classrooms. To this end, we expanded an existing approach by implementing active, technique-based inoculation and technique-based debunking within the COVID-19 content framework in a teacher education course. This implementation was monitored by a mixed-methods study with n = 24 future middle and high school teachers who participated in two courses in subsequent semesters. By performing statistical analysis on pretests and posttests and qualitative content analysis on reflective journal entries, we found that future teachers’ self-efficacy expectations for detecting and debunking misinformation, as well as their debunking skills, increased throughout the courses. In addition, our results show that future teachers perceive active, technology-based inoculation as a helpful approach for their future teaching. They feel that this approach can be a way to implement education for sustainable development in schools with a focus on the promotion of critical thinking. In summary, we believe that the approach presented in this article may be beneficial for teaching the critical treatment of information in various thematic contexts.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 78%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Misinformation as a Societal Problem in Times of Crisis: A Mixed-Methods Study with Future Teachers to Promote a Critical Attitude towards Information

2023

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“…Misinformation refers to ‘false information that is disseminated regardless of intent to mislead’ (Center For Climate Change Communication, George Mason University, 2020; p. 5). Researchers have highlighted that misinformation is unintentionally false information and includes errors or inaccuracies; this distinguishes it from a similar concept, disinformation , which refers to false information that is deliberately shared to deceive or mislead individuals or organizations (Austin et al, 2021; Rubin, 2019; Wardle & Derakhshan, 2017). When it comes to crisis communication, misinformation broadly involves multiple types of false information, including rumours and incorrect, insufficient or outdated information, circulated during a crisis (Mehta et al, 2021).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It impedes the dissemination of accurate information and may encourage unhealthy behaviours that can endanger people and can threaten an organization's survival (Coombs et al, 2021; Tan et al, 2015). Misinformation becomes especially dangerous in times of organizational crisis, reducing the effectiveness of the organization's crisis communication and resulting in incorrect beliefs that bring about detrimental impacts to organizational reputation and profit (Atkinson, 2019; Austin et al, 2021). In this way, crisis misinformation can challenge an organization's ‘narratives and public information vetting, affecting trust, morale, safety and financial performance’ in times of crisis (Mehta et al, 2021; p. 1).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Debunking misinformation in times of crisis: Exploring misinformation correction strategies for effective internal crisis communication

Kim

Lim

2022

Contingencies & Crisis Mgmt

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This study aimed to explore misinformation correction strategies for effective internal crisis communication. Using an experimental study (N = 1196) with full‐time employees in the United States, this study found that a corrective strategy using more elaborated facts was effective in protecting internal reputation and that timely, proactive communication to debunk crisis misinformation was a significant factor influencing employees' cognitive reactance (counterarguing) and behavioural outcomes. This research can help crisis communicators better understand how to prevent negative outcomes that undermine the effectiveness of evidence‐based communication efforts. Specifically, the findings suggest the use of more proactive internal crisis communication to correct misinformation and to prevent damage caused by employees' misconceptions and related communication behaviours. Furthermore, the study theoretically extends the literature on debunking crisis‐misinformation by elucidating the cognitive and behavioural processes of crisis misinformation in internal crisis communication.

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“…It is critical for organizations to devise more proactive disinformation management systems and more effective strategies in order to protect their assets and safeguard public health and safety. Most recent development in social-mediated crisis communication (SMCC) research has also made urgent arguments for more effective management systems of misinformation and disinformation (Austin et al ., 2021; Liu et al ., 2021; Lu and Jin, 2020; Lu et al ., 2022; van der Meer and Jin, 2022) in the competitive and conflicting digital media ecosystem.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

AI-driven disinformation: a framework for organizational preparation and response

Karinshak,

Jin

2023

JCOM

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PurposeDisinformation, false information designed with the intention to mislead, can significantly damage organizational operation and reputation, interfering with communication and relationship management in a wide breadth of risk and crisis contexts. Modern digital platforms and emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), introduce novel risks in crisis management (Guthrie and Rich, 2022). Disinformation literature in security and computer science has assessed how previously introduced technologies have affected disinformation, demanding a systematic and coordinated approach for sustainable counter-disinformation efforts. However, there is a lack of theory-driven, evidence-based research and practice in public relations that advises how organizations can effectively and proactively manage risks and crises driven by AI (Guthrie and Rich, 2022).Design/methodology/approachAs a first step in closing this research-practice gap, the authors first synthesize theoretical and technical literature characterizing the effects of AI on disinformation. Upon this review, the authors propose a conceptual framework for disinformation response in the corporate sector that assesses (1) technologies affecting disinformation attacks and counterattacks and (2) how organizations can proactively prepare and equip communication teams to better protect businesses and stakeholders.FindingsThis research illustrates that future disinformation response efforts will not be able to rely solely on detection strategies, as AI-created content quality becomes more and more convincing (and ultimately, indistinguishable), and that future disinformation management efforts will need to rely on content influence rather than volume (due to emerging capabilities for automated production of disinformation). Built upon these fundamental, literature-driven characteristics, the framework provides organizations actor-level and content-level perspectives for influence and discusses their implications for disinformation management.Originality/valueThis research provides a theoretical basis and practitioner insights by anticipating how AI technologies will impact corporate disinformation attacks and outlining how companies can respond. The proposed framework provides a theory-driven, practical approach for effective, proactive disinformation management systems with the capacity and agility to detect risks and mitigate crises driven by evolving AI technologies. Together, this framework and the discussed strategies offer great value to forward-looking disinformation management efforts. Subsequent research can build upon this framework as AI technologies are deployed in disinformation campaigns, and practitioners can leverage this framework in the development of counter-disinformation efforts.

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Managing Misinformation and Conflicting Information

Cited by 4 publications

References 1 publication

Misinformation as a Societal Problem in Times of Crisis: A Mixed-Methods Study with Future Teachers to Promote a Critical Attitude towards Information

Misinformation as a Societal Problem in Times of Crisis: A Mixed-Methods Study with Future Teachers to Promote a Critical Attitude towards Information

Debunking misinformation in times of crisis: Exploring misinformation correction strategies for effective internal crisis communication

AI-driven disinformation: a framework for organizational preparation and response

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