MISINFORMATIONThe Information War – How to Deal with Fake News and Misinformation
Over the past few weeks, we have seen a growth in the use of the term ‘Information War’. The term, at first glance, would appear to be fairly innocuous: I mean, how hurtful or harmful could information actually be? However, as the conflict in Ukraine continues, we have seen the use of information take on a more powerful, weaponized status. We can help stop the spread of misinformation.
Over the past few weeks, we have seen a growth in the use of the term ‘Information War’. The term, at first glance, would appear to be fairly innocuous…. I mean, how hurtful or harmful could information actually be? However, as the conflict in Ukraine continues, we have seen the use of information take on a more powerful, weaponized status. The use of information - or to be more accurate, misinformation and disinformation - in the context of conflict is nothing new; what is new is the depth, breadth, and virulence with which such information is being spread.
In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, social media was frequented with various stories that purported to describe potential miracle cures for the disease. Most of these stories were unfounded, based on hearsay, and in some instances actually more dangerous than COVID-19 itself.
However, the real damage being done was two-fold – not only did these ‘miracle cures’ serve to actually create a sense of panic in society, but they also served to undermine the established protocols and messages that were being presented by government and health officials. And this, in effect, relates to the key purposes behind misinformation – to undermine, to disrupt, to raise anxiety, and to divide.
We have seen this widely in the context of the Ukraine-Russia conflict, but to an extent that has never really been seen before. The potential for ‘false flag’ operations, where one side in the conflict carries out an attack, but blames the other side, and as a result seemingly gains the right to respond in a way they see fit, has also complicated matters further. This means that clearly identifying where information has come from, and how it has been verified is even more crucial. We’ve seen this on a fairly large scale, and the misinformation often fits into a wider circle of conspiracy theory, tapping into already existing mistrust.
For example, Russia made claims that the US had been secretly developing biological weapons on Ukrainian territory. These claims have been widely refuted, and there is no actual evidence to support this, but the fact that this misinformation has been released raises some important questions, mainly, why?
