Misinformation

Question 1

misinformation

Answer 1

incorrect beliefs held confidently

Question 2

Explain misinformation and the Iraq War

Answer 2

Eg. people confidently believed (falsely) that Iraq had weapons WMDs, influencing support for the Iraq War

However, he Sadam Hussein didn’t have money or resources to do this
Used as justification for starting the war and fueled rage, even after it was proven incorrect (directional motivations)

Question 3

2 motivational causes for misinformation

Answer 3

1. directional motivations
2. accuracy motivations

Question 4

directional motivations

Answer 4

people seek information aligning with their political identity or preexisting views

includes confirmation bias

Question 5

Confirmation Bias

Answer 5

the tendency to look for information that supports our preexisting beliefs and discard conflicting information

Question 7

accuracy motivations

Answer 7

people genuinely seek correct information

Question 8

relationship between directional and accuracy motivations

Answer 8

Directional motivations often overpower accuracy motivations

Question 9

Backfire Effect

Answer 9

Corrections can backfire, causing people to cling more strongly to their initial false beliefs

Question 10

backire effect evolutionary explanation

Answer 10

we perceive correction as an attack on our tribe, so people pushback in defense to reinforce our tribal connection

Question 11

cognitive dissonance

Answer 11

the impossiblity of two things being true, which can cause people to find way to reinforce their beliefs

Question 12

Factors effecting correction effectiveness

Answer 12

1. issue type
2. source of correction

Question 13

Issue type

Answer 13

-Issues deeply tied to identity or partisan worldview are harder to correct
Correcting misinformation on the highly partisan issue of immigration is more challenging

-Less politicized are non-central issues are easier to correct
E.g. If you found out that Blake Lively attacks were planned and don’t care for her, you views of her may change as more information is revealed

Question 14

Source of correction

Answer 14

Corrections from sources with unexpected or non-partisan credibility are most effective
E.g. Republicans calling out misinformation in Trump’s State of the Union speech

Scholars and journalists increasingly being attacked because they try to correct misinformation but it’s interpreted as attacking the other

Question 15

measurement challenges

Answer 15

difficulty distinguishing between sincere misinformation and expressive responding (intentionally reporting false beliefs to express partisan identity

E.g. Trump supporters inaccurately claimed that his inauguration had larger crowd than Obama’s despite clear photographic evidence

Question 16

Samuel Woolley “manufacturing consensus”

Answer 16

-uses computation comm strategies to analyze how misinformation spreads
-Chapter focuses on a case study of India by examining the Prime Minister Narendra Modi by examining information that supported his party at the expense of truth

Question 17

computational propaganda

Answer 17

Use of automated digital tools to manipulate public opinion and manufacture consensus

E.g. producers at superbowl trying to regain audience by amplifying wild and enthusiastic cheering at Michael Jackson’s half time performance to create the illusion of mass consensus and support for him

Question 18

misinformation and disinformation thrive in closed communication systems facilitated by political operatives using:

Answer 18

-automation (bots)
-anonymous profiles (e.g. for amazon reviews)
-real human influencers

Question 19

How did the BJP employ computational propaganda

Answer 19

BJP operative use WhatsApp groups and political bots to amplify pro-Modi messaging and drive racial partisan animosity that led to lynchings

Biased political messages made to appear organically popular but used digital technologies to create illusion of consensus

Question 20

relational advertising

Answer 20

leverages personal trust relationships (family/friends) to amplify propaganda

people trust friends and family more

Question 21

How did BJP utilize relational advertising?

Answer 21

WhatsApp groups facilitate misinformation spread because users trust information from close contacts more than traditional media

Question 22

Chaos as a strategic tool

Answer 22

Propagandists intentionally generate confusion rather than clear narratives, as confusion itself serves their political objectives

Question 23

how did the BJP utilize chaos as a strategic tool

Answer 23

BJP WhatsApp campaigns created conflicting narratives which led to
-Uncertainty about whose right and wrong
-Mistrust in traditional media
-Weakened critical capacities among the public (don’t have time to investigate thoroughly so people rely on those they trust)

Question 24

manufacturing consensus meaning

Answer 24

Creating the illusion of widespread public support or opposition through artificial digital means

E.g. in the 2016 US election, Trump’s campaign benefited significantly from automated bots artificially inflating his online popularity on Twitter – People start to believe information that they see very often

Question 25

Manufacturing consent: five filters explaining how elite interests manipulate mass media to control public opinion

Answer 25

1. ownership 2. advertising 3. sourcing 4. flak 5. ideological fear

Question 26

ownership

Answer 26

Most major media outlets are owned by large corporations who are part of the economic elite- companies avoid content that challenge the owners or threaten profits or corporate power ownership influences the stories that do or don’t run

Question 27

advertising

Answer 27

Media outlets depend on advertising to survive Customers are the advertisers and to keep them happy the media has to avoid or soften stories that offend advertisers E.g, a pharmaceutical company advertisers in your paper but there’s a study that the drug causes major side effects - this story may not be run

Question 28

sourcing

Answer 28

News orgs have to rely on official sources for information, which have a lot of information

Question 29

Flak

Answer 29

-Negative responses to media content -Powerful groups can generate flak when media publishes stories that are harmful to them -Fear of backlash can cause self-censorship and lack of discussion on controversial topics (e.g. with anti-vaccine propagandists)

Question 30

*Ideological fear

Answer 30

By promoting fear, media can justify the actions of those in power - critics can then be painted as disloyal E.g. anti-communism, anti-terrorism, anit-immigration

Question 31

Digital Astroturfing

Answer 31

Creating the illusion of grassroots organizations and movements, using digital tools such as bots and sockpuppets

Question 32

“Distraction, not Partisanship Drives Sharing of Misinformation” Reading

Answer 32

-examines why misinformation spreads online -finds that misinformation isn't so much spread by inability to recognize false info, as it is by distraction -People can typically identify misinformation accurately but often share it anyway due to inattention rather than strong partisan motives

Question 33

what does idelogy impact and not impact?

Answer 33

-Ideology only modestly influences individuals’ judgments of accuracy -Ideology significantly influences the decision to share content (headlines aligns with political affiliation)

Question 34

disconnect between accuracy and behavior

Answer 34

Participants acknowledged the importance of sharing accurate info but still shared misinformation -stated beliefs differ from actual behaviors

Question 35

cognitive prompts

Answer 35

simple interventions reminding users to evaluate accuracy -found to significantly reduce sharing misinformation ## Footnote e.g. saying at the beginning of an article that it is seven years old

Question 36

“People share outrageous news even when they know it’s false” reading findings

Answer 36

People can often tell that the information is false but will share it anyways if it triggers moral outrage Experiments showed participants could distinguish true from false news but would still share false news if emotionally aroused

Question 37

Social functions of outrage

Answer 37

-Sharing outrageous misinformation helps individuals signal moral or social alignment -Emotional arousal provides social rewards - status, identity confirmation