{"id":4521,"date":"2025-05-01T11:55:03","date_gmt":"2025-05-01T01:55:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.deakin.edu.au\/article\/?p=4521"},"modified":"2025-05-05T09:29:00","modified_gmt":"2025-05-04T23:29:00","slug":"misinformation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.deakin.edu.au\/article\/misinformation\/","title":{"rendered":"Don’t believe everything you see: how AI is spreading mis-, dis- and mal-information and what to do about it\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

Have you ever come across a viral post or news story<\/a> that seemed too good to be true? Or maybe you\u2019ve seen a video that looked so realistic you couldn\u2019t tell if it was real or fake<\/a>? Welcome to the world of misinformation, disinformation and mal\u2013information.<\/p>\n

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‘Understanding Information Disorder<\/a>‘ by First Draft News is licenced under CC-BY 4.0<\/a>.<\/p><\/div>\n

Misinformation has always been around but tends to spike during events like elections<\/a> or health crises. Dealing with misinformation involves two key actions:<\/p>\n

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  1. Learning how to assess and verify what you see.<\/li>\n
  2. Knowing how to respond when someone else shares something false or misleading.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    What is mis-, dis- and mal-information?<\/h2>\n

    Misinformation<\/strong> is false or misleading information that is spread either intentionally or unintentionally. It can be spread through social media, news outlets or word of mouth. Misinformation is often created to generate clicks, likes or views, or to promote a particular agenda or ideology.<\/p>\n

    Can you tell if comments are from a genuine account or professional troll? Play Spot the Troll game<\/a><\/p>\n

    Disinformation<\/strong> is similar to misinformation, but it\u2019s spread with the intent to deceive. Disinformation can be spread by governments, political campaigns or individuals with a specific agenda. Disinformation is often used to sow discord, influence elections or discredit individuals or organisations.<\/p>\n

    Would you know if you were watching a deepfake? Play the game<\/a><\/p>\n

    Mal-information<\/strong> is true information that is spread with the intent to harm someone\u2019s reputation or cause other forms of harm. Mal-information can be used to shame or embarrass someone, or to spread fear or panic. Mal-information can be spread through gossip, social media or news outlets. Examples of mal-information include phishing, doxing, swatting and revenge porn.<\/p>\n

    As the above chart shows, these categories are not fixed and can change over time. For example, if misinformation is proven to be false but people continue to share it, it can become disinformation. Similarly, mal-information can transform into disinformation if it gains enough traction on social media and modifies the original narrative.<\/p>\n

    Mis-, dis- and mal-information gone viral<\/h2>\n

    Artificial intelligence (AI) has become the sneaky accomplice of mis-, dis- and mal-information, promoting their viral spread online. For instance, deepfakes, AI-manipulated videos and images now deceive users with such high frequency that it can be hard to tell what\u2019s real and what\u2019s not. These manipulations can spread like wildfire across social media, making it harder for us to distinguish between fact and fiction. An example is the deepfake videos<\/a> of Tom Cruise that went viral on TikTok, showing just how convincing these manipulations can be.<\/p>\n