Disinformation

Key people

• Adnan OktarTurkish cult leader (born 1956)
• Jessikka AroFinnish journalist
• Ladislav BittmanAmerican officer (1931–2018)
• Henri JoyeuxFrench physician and essayist

Timeline

• 1986In October 1986, the term gained increased currency in the U.S.
• 2001By 2001, the term disinformation had come to be known as simply a more civil phrase for saying someone was lying.
• 2014Ethics in warfare In a contribution to the 2014 book Military Ethics and Emerging Technologies, writers David Danks and Joseph H.
• 2016The 2016 European Union referendum in the UK also saw British politicians supporting the Leave campaign spread disinformation on Twitter.
• 2019The Conservative Party was also accused of spreading disinformation about the Labour Party in the lead-up to the 2019 General Election.

Read

• The disinformerPeter Ustinov · 1989Book
• Active MeasuresThomas Rid · 2020Book
• Digital Democracy, Social Media and DisinformationPetros Iosifidis · 2020Book
• Disinformation and Manipulation in Digital MediaEileen Culloty · 2021Book

Listen

• Disinformation WarsAmerican Foreign Policy CouncilPodcast
• Unchecked: The architecture of disinformationCurious SquidPodcast
• DisinformationPI MediaPodcast
• The Disinformed PodcastthedisinformedpodcastPodcast

Voices to follow

• Evan Davis@EvanHD · XBritish economist, journalist and presenter
• Caroline Orr Bueno@RVAwonk · XUS researcher specializing in disinformation networks
• Karolin Schwarz@raeuberhose · XGerman journalist
• Petra Rédová Fajmonová@Redovapetra · XCzech activist

By the numbers

• 27.2Women in parliament (%) — global, 2025 (World Bank)

Debates

• Should governments directly regulate disinformation?One view: Yes, regulation is necessary to protect democratic processes and public trust from harmful false narratives. · Another: No, government regulation risks censorship, stifles free speech, and could be abused for political gain.Open question
• Is social media the primary driver of disinformation's impact?One view: Yes, social media algorithms amplify false content, create echo chambers, and allow rapid, wide dissemination. · Another: No, traditional media and political actors also play significant roles in creating and spreading disinformation, with social media merely a new channel.Open question

Glossary

• DisinformationDeliberately false or misleading information spread to deceive people.
• MisinformationFalse or inaccurate information spread unintentionally.
• PropagandaInformation, often biased or misleading, used to promote a political cause or point of view.
• Fact-checkingThe process of verifying the accuracy of statements and claims.
• Echo chamberAn environment where a person encounters only beliefs or opinions that match their own.
• Filter bubbleA state of intellectual isolation that can result from personalized searches and algorithms.

Careers

Roles this can lead toward

Threads 6

Where this connects to other fields — and why it's worth knowing.

• Orthodoxy and Heresy Religion

  Share a 'secret truth' that everyone else laughs at, and the people who believe it stick together even harder. So proving them wrong often makes them believe more. A lie spread this way builds a loyal group, the same way banned beliefs once built followers.

• Cryptography & Digital Security Mathematics

  A deepfake fools you because you can't check who really made a video. The fix reporters want, a hidden cryptographic stamp proving where a clip came from, is the same trust tech that keeps your bank app safe. Spotting fake videos and protecting your money turn out to be the same puzzle.

• The Scientific Method Science

  Casting doubt on election results and casting doubt on scientists use the exact same trick: flood people with fake uncertainty. And both fight back the same way, by having others check and repeat the work until the truth holds up.

• Game Theory & Strategy Mathematics

  A liar just blurts out a fake claim in seconds. The fact-checker then has to dig up sources and carefully prove it wrong. Truth always costs more to defend than a lie costs to throw — an unfair matchup baked right into the game.

• Procedure & Evidence Law

  Courts figured out how to catch lying witnesses ages ago: strict rules about evidence and tough cross-examination. Elections have nothing like that, so wild claims fly around with no fact-check. Weirdly, a courtroom often gets closer to the truth than a public debate.

• Market Failure & Externalities Economics

  A shared set of facts is something everyone benefits from, like clean air. Every lie is like a puff of pollution, making it a little harder for all of us to know what's true. And no market ever charges the liar for that damage.