Misinformation Information
misinformation: refers to false information that is disseminated in good faith
Republican state Sen. Bruce Bostelman of Nebraska fell victim to a hoax circulating the internet regarding teenage furries using litter boxes in schools. He decided to continue to spread this misinformation at a televised event, without providing any sort of proof, only hearsay. As a high ranking politician with this amount of reach and power he should have fact-checked the claims before continuing to spread the misinformation. His speech is the misinformation in this case. When researching for information on these claims online you would find 0 legitimate claims and mostly just strangers on the internet putting it onto social media with no
mal-information: refers to information that is disseminated with the intent of doing harm
Since the tragic earthquake in Turkey, many people have stepped up in donating funds to support those who have been affected. Unfortunately, many people try to take advantage of others’ kindness and set up fake donation links that will only benefit themselves. BBC News has outlines some examples of scammers trying to play at people’s emotions and asking for donations. One of the example accounts @TurkeyRelief, is a good example of how to find if the account is legitimate. The account itself was created in January 2023, only has 31 followers, and at the time of making this, less than 100 tweets (all asking for donations). Another hint is that the redirects take you to a personal Paypal page and also request payments in cryptocurrencies, a humanitarian relief fund would never do either of these.
disinformation: is false information circulated with the intent of doing harm
When Taylor Swift announced her Eras Tour the demand and media attention was so immense her long-time fans began to panic about not getting a chance to get tickets. Some fans began to spread negative rumours about her in an attempt to sway casual fans away from supporting her on tour. These tweets generated thousands of retweets from other Taylor fans hoping it may actually work in lowering the demand. A quick fact check, and google search will show no proof to support any of these claims. Particularly, searching the second cannibal related tweet on twitter or google will show you several examples of this exact text copied and pasted being used for other celebrities for the same cause - to lower demand.
