Misinformation

Misinformation is incorrect or misleading information.^[5][6] Misinformation can exist without specific malicious intent; disinformation is distinct in that it is deliberately deceptive and propagated.^[7][8][9] Misinformation can include inaccurate, incomplete, misleading, or false information as well as selective or half-truths.^[10][11] In January 2024, the World Economic Forum identified misinformation and disinformation, propagated by both internal and external interests, to "widen societal and political divides" as the most severe global risks within the next two years.^[12]

Much research on how to correct misinformation has focused on fact-checking.^[13] However, this can be challenging because the information deficit model does not necessarily apply well to beliefs in misinformation.^[14][15] Various researchers have also investigated what makes people susceptible to misinformation.^[15] People may be more prone to believe misinformation because they are emotionally connected to what they are listening to or are reading. Social media has made information readily available to society at anytime, and it connects vast groups of people along with their information at one time.^[16] Advances in technology have impacted the way people communicate information and the way misinformation is spread.^[13] Misinformation can influence people's beliefs about communities, politics, medicine, and more.^[16][17] The term also has the potential to be used to obfuscate legitimate speech and warp political discourses.

The term came into wider recognition during the mid-1990s through the early 2020s, when its effects on public ideological influence began to be investigated. However, misinformation campaigns have existed for hundreds of years.^[18][19]