TRUTH DECAYDisinformation Course Draws on Area Studies Expertise

In recent years, disinformation has emerged as one of the leading global threats. We are witnessing the extent of its danger in real time: as relief workers strain to assist those affected by the deadly back-to-back hurricanes Helene and Milton, their work is being hindered by disinformation. We awaken daily to news such as “Disinformation chaos hammers FEMA” or “Meteorologists Face Harassment and Death Threats Amid Hurricane Disinformation.”

But what exactly is disinformation, and how does it spread?

Disinformation and the State in East Europe, an Indiana University Bloomington course being offered in spring 2025, deals with these timely and important questions. It is offered by Robert F. Byrnes Russian and East European Institute and taught by Jessica Storey-Nagy, an affiliate faculty member with the institute and research associate in the Department of Anthropology at Indiana University. Storey-Nagy, a 2022 graduate of the Central Eurasian Studies Ph.D. program, is an expert on political discourse and communication in East Europe.

This is the second time the course will be taught after being a popular offering in spring 2024. According to Storey-Nagy, the purpose of the course is to explore truths, facts, lies and deceptions of all types harnessed by individuals and institutions. A fundamental question asked in this course is “What is the difference between truth and fact?”

Storey-Nagy noted that the first time around, students in the class were tasked with agreeing on a definition of truth but were unable to reach a consensus, demonstrating just how hard it is to identify what is and is not “true.” Because liars are often talented narrators, their stories can feel accurate, but “liars want to hide truth value of a text,” Storey-Nagy said, and “disinformation campaigners lie to others with ill intent.”

This intent is what distinguishes disinformation from misinformation, which is false information spread without ill intent – often as a consequence of not fact-checking the source.

The problem posed by disinformation has become clearer in recent years, particularly in the context of the 2016 US Presidential Election and deliberate attempts, linked to the Russian government, to spread fake news on social media.

“Disinformation destabilizes trust in democratic systems,” Storey-Nagy said.
However, Storey-Nagy, who spent a year teaching about East Europe at Fort Carson, Colorado, observed that the threat of disinformation is not exclusive to civilians, commenting that “elite soldiers are human too, and are not immune to belief in [conspiracy theories]” promoted by disinformation campaigns.

Disinformation and the State provides students with insights on how to recognize and potentially combat disinformation. Such skills and knowledge can be applied widely, well beyond just the study of political communication.

One of the benefits of the course being offered by the Russian and East European Institute, which focuses on areas studies in Russia and Eastern Europe, is that the Disinformation and the State course draws on the strength of IU’s area studies programs.

“Area Studies is interesting because it’s multidisciplinary. I could teach disinformation in another way, but in this form, I offer students the benefits of a multidisciplinary lens,” Storey-Nagy said.

Indeed, this course is one of many offerings at IU, and especially within the Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies, which familiarizes students with the most pressing contemporary global issues and their possible solutions. Students are then equipped with expertise that can give them an edge in almost any field.