Barbara Smith, Communications Team Member/PCDCC Member

Information is all around us, but as discussed in last month’s article, determining if the information is credible can be a challenge. Those of you who took the literacy quiz may have been surprised at how convincingly a lie can mimic the truth. Refresh your memory here.

Misinformation, while easily corrected, often isn’t. Disinformation is intentional and devastatingly effective. But there’s another form of information disorder with an even more evil intent—mal-information.

Mal-information is information that is based in reality but often the context, date, or time of the authentic content is changed. Its purpose is to inflict harm. Publication of confidential or privileged information, altered images, revenge porn, and email leaks are all examples of mal-information. The information may be true or contain a measure of truth, but there’s no public interest in its publication.

One high-profile example is the release of revenge porn involving Katie Hill. While the data was real, the only purpose in releasing it was to embarrass and harass Hill, culminating in her resignation from Congress.

Another more recent example is the altered Fox News video of President Biden. It was purposefully edited to make it seem that he was making racially insensitive remarks. Then Fox claimed Biden was “facing backlash” about his remarks, effectively closing the disinformation loop.

It’s up to all of us to be more critical consumers of information. In the next installment in this series, the focus will be on evaluating news items and sources. Stay tuned.