Recognizing Your Role in Amplifying Disinformation
We all play a role in spreading disinformation online and offline, so we all need to learn how to recognize it and prevent its amplification.
In this module, we cover ways that we, as communicators, and just social media users in general, can help prevent the spread of disinformation.
As Brittany Todd and Nora Benavidez point out on Disinformed, this is not just a tech problem; it’s also a human problem. And simplifying the problem to a free-speech argument is dangerous. As communicators, we have to address racism, white supremacy and misogyny, and one important way of doing that is making sure we aren’t giving dangerous content air before it’s required. Todd and Benavidez note that Twitter’s prompt during the 2020 election asking if users had read an article before they retweet it is a good first step. But we all need to be more cognizant of our role in spreading disinformation and the underlying narrative we may help spread. Read more about the harmful narratives and frames at the root of a lot of disinformation.
Course Content
01 Misinformation vs. Disinformation.
Explore the difference between misinformation, disinformation and fake news.
02 Why Disinformation is So Hard to Debunk.
Disinformation is particularly dangerous because the falsehoods are often very sticky, meaning they stay in our memories. The module covers the psychology behind what makes disinformation sticky.
03 Narratives and Framing.
As communicators, we can’t effectively combat disinformation without examining the larger communication ecosystem within which it thrives.
04 Harmful Techniques and Rhetorical Strategies.
Disinformation is spread through a variety of techniques to manipulate journalists, social media algorithms and users alike into amplifying it. This module details a few techniques that we as communicators should be aware of so we can prevent that amplification and also discredit the techniques when we see them used.
05 The Role of Social Media.
Disinformation agents create emotional content meant to provoke people to click, share, comment or retweet it. Unfortunately, social media platforms’ business models are based on algorithmic promotion of content for engagement and optimization of ads.
06 Recognizing our Role.
We all play a role in spreading disinformation online and offline, so we all need to learn how to recognize it and prevent its amplification.
07 The Role of the News Media.
The media plays an incredibly important role in society, and their job is not easy. But they also play a role in amplifying disinformation and the harmful narratives that prop it up.
08 Start your Comms Strategy.
Just Truth covers a lot of important background information that will inform an effective communication strategy against disinformation. Now let’s talk about what we as communicators and nonprofit practitioners can do to address disinformation.
