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To combat false and misleading information it can be useful to recognize the different
shapes it can take. Here are five common forms of mis- and disinformation to look out for.
Fabricated. A story or claim that is fictional is called fabricated
content. People can invent stories for political reasons but the most
common motive is money. A website's owner benefits from the advertising
that appears beside their content. The more clicks they get, the more money they make.
Imposter. Imposter sites try to fool people by imitating credible news organizations. The URL
and logo of a well-known site may be changed just a little so people believe they are looking at
the real thing. The goal is to mislead people into trusting and sharing faulty information.
Click bait. A click bait headline is designed to provoke enough curiosity the people can't
resist clicking to find out more. Click bait can spark interest by using exaggeration, emotional
language, or creating suspense. The reason behind click bait is to earn money from ads.
Manipulated. Manipulated content is real information that is altered to change its
meaning, such as a photo or video that is made to depict something not shown in
the original. Visuals are immediate and tend to appeal more strongly to
our emotions than words so it's an easy way for misleading information to spread.
False context. False context is when a real photo is paired with an inaccurate
story. This is one of the most common forms of mis- and disinformation. An unaltered
image can easily become misleading with the addition of a false headline or description
Knowing the vocabulary of information pollution is
an important step in becoming skilled information consumers.