Understanding the misinformation ecosystem

Internal code: 1.2d

Target groups: recipients

General description Misinformation actors and groups seem to act within an ecosystem in which fringe and conspiracy theories stack and in which misinformation narratives du jour can follow up on previous misinformation narratives du jour.
 * (Michael Gordin on fringe theory stacking) "The contents of the theories differ wildly, but the methods bear an affinity. ... Fundamentally, we need to recognise that fringe theories aren’t just theories. Like science, the fringes come with complex, interconnected social substructures. The theories serve as sources of identity and as social magnets. They provide meaning to how adherents think about the world, much as the mainstream scientific consensus does."
 * Part of the ecosystem may be fed by inauthentic behavior (information spread by fake accounts, externally sponsored). But Facebook whistleblower on inauthentic behavior Sophie Zhang states now: "... I’m arguing that the west is too focused on inauthentic behavior and not enough on harm done by people acting authentically."

Interventions

Impact measurements

Assumptions
 * There seems to be a pandemic bot holiday
 * - (The Guardian, 4.3.2022) "those who frequently encounter bots or angry responses are now seeing a significant drop-off. Covid misinformation, which has often trended on social media over the past two years, seems to be taking a nosedive. The reasons for this “bot holiday”, as [epidemiologist and physician David] Fisman calls it, are probably varied – but many of them point to the Russian invasion of Ukraine."
 * - (Peter Gleick on Twitter) "What do you know. Russia is blocking Twitter and all of a sudden the number of trolls, climate deniers, and fake right-wing Americans in my Twitter feed has plummeted."


 * Anti-vaxxers turn pro-Russian
 * - In the Czech Republic
 * - (Toronto Star - see also Ben Collins on Twitter) In Canada 26% of unvaccinated people believe that Russia invading Ukraine is justified while 2% of vaccinated people do.

Recommendations

Understanding the misinformation ecosystem projects