Lesson 2: The Disinformers
Summary
TLDRThis video lesson, produced by the U.S. Department of State, explores the role of disinformers in spreading false information. It highlights how disinformation is disseminated by various entities, including governments, businesses, and individuals, often exploiting emotions and psychological biases. Disinformers use tactics such as repetition and confirmation bias to convince people of partially or wholly untrue narratives, which can result in dangerous real-world consequences. The lesson emphasizes the importance of understanding these tactics to counter disinformation effectively and protect freedoms and human rights.
Takeaways
- 📚 Disinformation is a tool used to create discord and can be intimidating, but understanding it can empower communities.
- 👤 Disinformation is spread by a variety of entities and individuals, including governments, political parties, businesses, individuals, and bots.
- 🌐 Motivations for spreading disinformation are diverse, ranging from ideological to political to financial gains.
- 📈 Disinformation is spread through various mediums such as text, memes, GIFs, photos, audio, and video, both online and offline.
- 🎯 The goal of disinformation is to convince people to believe in something that is wholly or partially untrue.
- 🧠 Disinformers exploit psychological vulnerabilities and emotions, often promoting divisive topics to create anxiety, anger, and confusion.
- 💊 Disinformation can have real-world impacts, such as influencing people to take dangerous actions or avoid safe ones.
- 📊 Disinformers use technology and social media platforms to spread disinformation, often creating content that appears credible.
- 🔁 A common tactic is repetition, where the same narrative is shared across platforms to reach a larger audience and gain credibility.
- 🔄 Confirmation bias is exploited by disinformers to favor information that supports existing beliefs or predispositions.
- 🌍 Disinformation has destructive effects on communities and can spread across international borders, impacting human rights and freedoms.
Q & A
What is the main focus of the lesson titled 'The Disinformers'?
-The lesson focuses on understanding the entities and individuals, known as disinformers, who spread disinformation and the methods they use to disseminate it.
Who wrote the lesson on disinformation?
-The lesson was written by Jacobo Licona, the CEO and founder of JL Research, a firm specializing in research on disinformation and misinformation.
What kind of media does disinformation typically use to spread?
-Disinformation is spread through various media including text, memes, GIFs, photos, audio, and video.
How do disinformers exploit psychological vulnerabilities?
-Disinformers exploit psychological vulnerabilities by tapping into emotions and promoting divisive topics to create anxiety, anger, frustration, and confusion.
What are the real-world impacts of disinformation mentioned in the script?
-Real-world impacts of disinformation can include leading people to take dangerous medications or avoid safe and effective vaccines, and even inciting acts of violence or political unrest.
How do disinformers use technology and social media to their advantage?
-Disinformers use technology and social media platforms to spread disinformation by creating engaging content that appears credible and by building a presence that resembles real news sources.
What is the significance of repetition as a tactic used by disinformers?
-Repetition is used by disinformers to share the same post or narrative across platforms to reach a larger audience, which can lead to increased credibility and belief in the disinformation.
What is confirmation bias and how do disinformers use it?
-Confirmation bias is the tendency to favor or accept information that supports our existing beliefs. Disinformers exploit this by creating narratives that align with and reinforce the fears and suspicions of a community.
How does disinformation affect communities and why is it important to understand it?
-Disinformation can have destructive effects on communities by spreading across borders and undermining trust. Understanding disinformers and their tactics is crucial for countering disinformation and protecting freedoms and human rights.
What is the next step recommended for individuals to combat disinformation?
-The next step is to learn about best practices for identifying and countering disinformation, which will be covered in the subsequent lessons.
Where can one find more information about this course and related resources?
-Additional information about the course and related resources can be found on the U.S. Department of State's website.
Outlines
🧠 Introduction to Disinformation and the Disinformers
This paragraph introduces the lesson on understanding and countering disinformation, with a focus on 'The Disinformers.' It recaps the previous lesson's key points about the nature of disinformation and its effects on communities. The lesson is authored by Jacobo Licona, CEO of JL Research, a firm specializing in strategic consulting on disinformation. Jacobo has significant experience in researching disinformation, having worked with major political campaigns and been featured in prominent media outlets. Disinformation is spread by diverse actors, including governments, political groups, and individuals, often with different motivations like politics, ideology, or profit. The paragraph highlights various formats used for disinformation, including text, memes, GIFs, and videos, both online and offline, and stresses the danger posed by disinformers' manipulation of emotions and psychological vulnerabilities.
⚠️ Tactics and Dangers of Disinformation
This section discusses the tactics used by disinformers, particularly their exploitation of psychological vulnerabilities such as fear and confirmation bias. Disinformers manipulate emotions like anxiety, anger, and frustration to create division and confusion. The real-world effects can be severe, such as people taking dangerous medical advice or engaging in violent actions. Disinformers often use technology and social media platforms to amplify their messages, using strategies like content repetition to make falsehoods appear credible. Another significant tactic is confirmation bias, where disinformers craft narratives that align with existing beliefs or fears, thus reinforcing misconceptions. The paragraph illustrates how disinformation, when unchecked, can harm communities, influence political actions, and undermine freedoms and human rights.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Disinformation
💡Disinformers
💡Psychological Vulnerabilities
💡Repetition
💡Confirmation Bias
💡Social Media
💡Technology
💡Divisive Topics
💡International Borders
💡Real-world Impacts
Highlights
Disinformation is spread by a variety of groups, including governments, political parties, businesses, and individuals, some coordinated and some acting alone.
Disinformation is disseminated across many formats, such as text, memes, GIFs, photos, audio, and video, and is shared both online and offline.
A disinformer’s primary goal is to convince people to believe something that is wholly or partially untrue.
Disinformers exploit psychological vulnerabilities, tapping into emotions like fear, anxiety, and anger to create division and confusion.
Disinformation can lead to real-world consequences, including violence, dangerous medical decisions, and attempts to undermine democracy.
Disinformers often use repetition to spread the same narrative across multiple platforms, increasing its credibility and reach.
The tactic of confirmation bias is frequently used, where disinformation aligns with existing values and beliefs, reinforcing misconceptions.
Disinformers may create narratives that exploit the fears of certain communities, such as the fear of a return to authoritarianism.
Disinformation spreads across international borders, impacting communities globally.
Social media platforms and other technologies are key tools for disinformers to spread their content widely.
Disinformers often mimic the appearance of legitimate news sources, creating engaging and professional-looking content.
One of the most dangerous outcomes of disinformation is inciting people to take actions based on false information, such as engaging in violence or rejecting vaccines.
Disinformation campaigns can be ideologically driven, politically motivated, or simply for profit.
Understanding disinformers and the disinformation they spread is crucial for countering these threats and protecting freedoms and human rights.
In the next lesson, the course will provide best practices for identifying and countering disinformation.
Transcripts
[TEXT: DEMOCRACY, PROSPERITY, HUMAN RIGHTS, EDUCATION, SECURITY A PRODUCTION OF U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE]
[TEXT: UNDERSTANDING AND COUNTERING DISINFORMATION] Welcome to Understanding and Countering Disinformation.
[TEXT: THE DISINFORMERS] This lesson is The Disinformers.
In the previous lesson, we learned about disinformation and the ways it is used to create discord.
While disinformation can be intimidating, understanding more about it
can empower us and our communities.
In this next lesson, we will learn more about the disinformers,
the main purveyors of disinformation, and how they spread it.
[TEXT: Jacobo Licona] This lesson is written by Jacobo Licona,
[TEXT: CEO and founder of JL Research] CEO and founder of JL Research, a research firm that provides strategic
[TEXT: Provides strategic consulting, competitive intelligence and research on the threat of disinformation and misinformation.] consulting, competitive intelligence and research support,
including research on the threat of disinformation and misinformation.
Jacobo has become a leading voice on the impact of disinformation
[TEXT: Quoted by or appeared in numerous media outlets, including the New York Times, CNN, and the Los Angeles Times.] and has been quoted by or appeared in numerous media outlets.
Prior to launching JL research.
Jacobo helped lead research efforts for two 2020 presidential campaigns
and various national campaign committees.
Disinformation isn't spread by one type of group or person;
it is spread by a variety of different entities and individuals,
some coordinated and some on their own, acting in bad faith.
It is pushed by governments, political parties,
businesses and corporations, individuals and even bots.
There are also a variety of motivations to push disinformation,
ranging from ideology to politics to profit.
[TEXT: Text, Memes,] These bad actors spread disinformation via text, memes.
[TEXT: GIFs, Photos, Audio, Video] GIFs, photos, audio and video.
And it's not only spread online or on social media.
They will spread it offline too, including in newspapers, on radio
and television, in mail and even face to face.
It is important to understand that a disinformer’s goal is to convince people
to believe a certain thing that is wholly or partially untrue.
Disinformers are often effective because they exploit
psychological vulnerabilities.
They tap into our emotions and promote divisive topics to create anxiety,
anger, frustration, and oftentimes confusion.
This can have real world impacts like leading individuals and groups to take dangerous medications
or not take safe and effective vaccines.
It can even lead to acts of violence.
Like a political leader convincing supporters to try to overthrow
a government or attack their opponents.
Disinformers often use technology
and social media platforms to spread disinformation.
They are savvy on social media and build credibility
by creating engaging content that even appears
like real news segments.
A common tactic bad actors use is repetition,
where they share the same post or narrative across platforms
in a coordinated way to reach a larger audience.
This repetition can lead us to believe in something that isn't true
because the content can gain credibility as we are exposed to it repeatedly.
While this may cause us to start believing in something we didn't originally believe.
[TEXT: Confirmation bias — the tendency to favor or accept information] Another common tactic disinformers use is confirmation bias,
[TEXT: that supports our existing values and beliefs] which is our tendency to favor or accept information that supports
our existing values and beliefs or a predisposition we already have.
One way disinformers may do this is by creating and spreading narratives
that feed into fears and suspicions a certain community may have.
For example, one common narrative is to utilize the specter
of the return to an authoritarian political system
to elicit fear among those who suffered under that system.
Disinformation has destructive effects on communities
and it spreads across international borders.
Understanding disinformers and the disinformation
they spread is crucial to countering disinformation
and preventing attacks on our freedoms and human rights.
In the next lesson, we will learn about best practices
for identifying disinformation and for countering disinformation.
TEXT: For more on this course and to access related resources,] For more on this course and to access related resources,
[TEXT: visit our website.] visit our website.
[TEXT: DEMOCRACY, PROSPERITY, HUMAN RIGHTS, EDUCATION, SECURITY A PRODUCTION OF U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE]
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