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Two Basic Patterns for Misinformation
Revelations of the deceptive tactics applied in recent elections have induced a heightened awareness among Europeans and Americans of the danger posed by misinformation, particularly when combined with the reach of online social media. As citizens many of us feel compelled to rise to the challenge, to defend our form of government and our way of life, but our efforts may be wasted unless we understand the challenge first. With that in mind here are two complementary patterns for misinformation.
The first general pattern is the information void. Information voids occur when there is public interest in information and that information is not forthcoming. It could be that the information does not exist, as with certain questions of science and religion, or that the information is being withheld, for example a secret. Human nature dictates that information voids will tend to be filled, with rumors, speculation and sometimes lies fulfilling public need when the truth is not forthcoming.
The second general pattern is the destruction of information. This occurs when an adversary acts to disrupt public acceptance of a particular fact or understanding. Lies are one important technique but there are many others.
An astute reader might now be thinking, “Okay, so there is gossip and there are lies. What’s the big deal?” The simplicity of…
