Expert: Media literacy not “silver bullet” in fight against disinformation

It’s estimated that one-third of Czechs are vulnerable to disinformation and misinformation, says Veronika Víchová, an analyst at NGO the Centre for an Informed Society. But what’s the difference between the two, and what threat do they pose to Czech society? I put those questions to Víchová.

“A third of Czechs are vulnerable to both disinformation and misinformation. Often times, they cannot differentiate between what is disinformation and what is misinformation. The difference is in the intent of the person or entity that spreads these false narratives. But the person who is vulnerable and on the receiving end, may not know if there is mal intent or if it’s a mistake.”

Could you explain the difference between disinformation and misinformation further?

“They both describe objectively false information. Disinformation is spread with an intent to manipulate or change someone’s behaviour – the person who spreads it knows that it’s false. Misinformation can be an honest mistake, so it’s false, but there is not an intent of the spreader to manipulate or hurt someone.”

See the rest here.

Author: Amelia Mola-Schmidt