The internet has always demanded users put on their bullshit goggles and take what they read with a pinch of salt. Anyone can publish websites, videos or social posts. We’re operating in an environment with low barriers to entry and low guardrails around the truth.

Misinformation and ‘fake news’ are not a modern problem, though. Conspiracy theories flourished, for example, in the Middle Ages, often with religious or political roots. Dr Gordon McKelvie writes “During the First Crusade, mistrust between the Catholic crusaders and the Greek Orthodox Byzantine Empire led to conspiracy theories that the Byzantines were colluding with Muslims against their fellow Christians.” The biased, politically driven messaging we see today has much in common with previous instances.

Later, the printing press, invented in 1493, became a trusted vehicle for misinformation campaigns. In 1835 it was the instrument behind “the first large-scale news hoax”, The Great Moon Hoax, in which the New York Sun reported six stories about the discovery of life on the moon.

More recently, in the 90s, the internet gave a voice to people who wanted to shed light on their experiences or beliefs. Groups including cult Heaven’s Gate could now host websites to recruit new members, espousing all kinds of falsehoods and manipulation. And it ended… not well!

 

 

Misinformation today

Misinformation has lately been rife, and often as a feature, not a bug. Media literacy has always been important for individuals to keep perspective, and it is particularly so with today’s online culture. People need critical thinking skills to navigate the abundance of deepfakes, AI slop and increasingly divisive propaganda shared online. Without it, they risk getting seriously lost.

However, recent studies show that reliance on AI to perform day-to-day tasks is degrading its users’ critical thinking abilities. For readers who are clinging on to these cognitive skills, each piece of unverifiable, uncited, unfounded information is an assault on their ability to trust in content.

It’s not healthy or natural to believe everything we read, see or hear, so some scepticism is healthy. But too much distrust can lead us to avoidance, disengagement, even hostility.

So, what can we do about it?

Today’s media landscape demands a serious investment in media literacy. Some universities are leading the charge here. Janet Coats at the University of Florida’s College of Journalism and Communications, and managing director of the Consortium on Trust in Media and Technology, has developed courses to further education on misinformation, media literacy and deepfake technology.

But it’s also up to us as writers, editors, videographers, podcasters and the like to create the kind of content that educates people and sparks genuine ideas – content that builds trust through understanding. We need to ask ourselves: are we feeding our audiences or the algorithms? Are we providing verified sources for the claims that we make? Are we creating content that is helping, not harming, our readers?

These are the questions that sense-making content professionals must ask themselves, so that readers don’t have to. As misinformation continues to degrade trust, it’s time for thinkers, writers and creators to build it back up.