Illustration of a heart outweighing a brain on a scale

Thinking Critically About Information

In an information environment shaped by pervasive algorithms, how do we determine truth? How do we know which sources of information to trust? These questions are becoming increasingly difficult to answer. Indeed, in 2016, Oxford Dictionaries selected "post-truth" as the Word of the Year, defining this as: “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.”

So, how do we determine if information is believable? How do we know when sources may be trying to manipulate our emotions, beliefs, and even actions?

We tend to think that we have rational relationships to information, but we don’t. We have emotional relationships to information, which is why the most effective disinformation draws on our underlying fears and worldviews...We’re less likely to be critical of information that reinforces our worldview or taps into our deep-seated emotional responses.

-Claire Wardle, Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics & Public Policy (qtd. in Vongkiatkajorn)

The Problem of "Disinformation"

Online evaluation and verification skills have never been more important than they are right now. A number of thoughtful articles have documented the rise in misinformation and disinformation online, with often significant real-world consequences. Vongkiatkajorn clearly defines these terms:

Misinformation: Any kind of false information.
Disinformation: False information that is deliberately created with the intent to mislead or cause harm. Often designed to emotionally engage you, to make you react and/or share the information. Why? Usually, to make money on clicks/views/ads, or to influence you in some way.

The graphic below illustrates the scale and range of intent behind false information, from unintentionally inaccurate to deliberately deceptive and harmful. For a much more detailed explanation of each form of information disorder, from “satire” to “fabricated content” to “false context,” see First Draft’s Essential Guide to Understanding Information Disorder.

Information disorder Venn diagram described in link below

Text version of this Venn diagram

Adapted from "Introduction to College Research" by Walter Butler, Aloha Sargent, and Kelsey Smith, licensed under CC BY 4.0

“First Draft’s Essential Guide to Understanding Information Disorder” by Claire Wardle is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Image: “Cognition and Emotion” by ElisaRiva on Pixabay

Image: “3 Types of Information Disorder” graphic by Claire Wardle & Hossein Derakshan is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0

“Oxford Word of the Year 2016.” Oxford Languages, Oxford University Press.

Steinmetz, Katy. "How Your Brain Tricks You Into Believing Fake News." Time, 9 Aug. 2018.

Vongkiatkajorn, Kanyakrit. "Here’s How You Can Fight Back Against Disinformation." Mother Jones, 9. Aug. 2018.

Wardle, Claire. “Information Disorder, Part 1: The Essential Glossary.” First Draft, 9 July 2018.