The Importance of Information Literacy in the Age of Misinformation

Information comes from all sorts of places - stories from friends, news in print and online, labels on boxes, and more. In a world where data is everywhere, it’s not unreasonable to begin to ask - how much of this info is true?

For centuries, misinformation has been the antithesis of high-quality information. In a world where content generation is making it easier to produce misinformation, it’s becoming harder than ever to distinguish what is real from what is fake. Having information literacy is invaluable for further education, such as a journalism degree online, empowering you with the skills necessary to critically reflect on and evaluate the information available to you. 

In this article, we’ll explore the role of misinformation - what it does, who it benefits, and what you can do to keep yourself aware and informed. Ultimately, we’ll look to answer the key question: What can you do to avoid being misled by misinformation?

What is Misinformation?

Information has had a long and storied history. Since the first story was told, there have always been forces that have told their own stories, whether intentionally or not.

The definition of misinformation is relatively straightforward - simply put, it’s inaccurate or false information. A classic example of misinformation is the many April Fool’s Day pranks that make their way to the Internet each year - after all, did you really think Burger King would be introducing a Whopper-themed toothpaste?

When you hear misinformation, you may also hear the term disinformation. While there’s only one letter of difference between the two, there’s a key difference between the two - while misinformation is inaccurate information, for example, accidentally giving the wrong amount of flour to put in a scone mix, disinformation has malicious intent. As we’ll soon learn, misinformation can have dire consequences.

The Impact of Misinformation

Inaccurate information - how dangerous can misinformation really be? As it turns out, even a small amount of misinformation can have significant consequences. Consider, for example, the game Telephone, where a group of children work together to pass a message along a group, with one person whispering a message to the next person, and so on. The goal is simple: get the message from one end of the group to the other without mixing it up. Often, a single mistake can rapidly alter the intended meaning of a message.

In 2018, a real-life example of misinformation truly felt like a game of Telephone. Scientists at the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory (YVO) reported on a lightning strike that took out some of their monitoring systems, to provide insight into how teams work together to keep monitoring stations running in Yellowstone National Park.

At the time, a tabloid news outlet made the decision to republish the story, with their version of the facts, exaggerating the issues at hand and perpetuating a misinformation narrative. While it may have seemed like small changes to make, this misinformation drove concerned citizens to contact the observatory to enquire if scientists had lost the ability to monitor volcanic activity (which they had not).

Misinformation can have far more significant impacts, particularly when it is weaponized. In 2022, leveraging social media features to pose as a legitimate business, writer Sean Morrow posed as pharmaceutical manufacturer Eli Lilly to ‘announce’ that insulin would now be free.

The impact was dramatic - in a matter of hours, shareholders latched onto the fake tweet, thinking it was true - and the stock price declined by 10% over the following week, cutting the value of the company by billions of dollars.

How to Spot Misinformation

As we’ve seen, misinformation and disinformation can have wide-ranging consequences - not only for individuals, but also for businesses and even governments. Being able to distinguish between fact and fiction is crucial to avoid making potentially serious mistakes.

For many individuals, one of the most effective ways to tackle misinformation is to be rigorous when evaluating data. Say, for example, I were to come up and tell you that the price of insulin was going to come down. How can you tell if the message I was telling you is the truth or simply a fiction?

Fortunately, there are some questions that you can ask yourself to assess whether something seems true or is potentially misleading. Consider, for example, the following four questions:

• Where did you find this information?

Did this information come from a reputable source, or was it simply something on the back of a post-it note?

• Are the images in the information authentic?This may not be relevant in all circumstances, but doctored images can often indicate that something is amiss.
• Does the information link to reputable, relevant sources?A document without any references may indicate that it has minimal to no supporting information, and could be misinformation.

• Are there fact-checks for this information available?

There are many sites, such as Snopes, that exist to fact-check. If a source seems questionable, it may be worth checking to see if these sites have done additional checks.

There’s a fifth question that’s often not stated, often, because it ties into how people feel when they receive news. Consider how you may feel when receiving a message - how did you feel when you received the information?

These five checks are by no means the only way to verify the accuracy of information. They are, however, a great way to begin to question the data in front of you - and as the kids say, if things come back sus, maybe they’re worth doing further investigation into.

Staying Vigilant in a Volatile Landscape

In an age of misinformation, it’s more important than ever to be vigilant and to question the information that’s presented to us. 

While it may be easy to simply sit back and accept that something is true, validating information can often be a small yet meaningful step in stopping the spread of misinformation.

As more information continues to be disseminated, the risks of misinformation will persist. While we may never see a world where misinformation and disinformation are truly eliminated, at least by knowing what to look for, we can be better informed in our quest for verifiable news.

(Disclaimer: Devdiscourse's journalists were not involved in the production of this article. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of Devdiscourse and Devdiscourse does not claim any responsibility for the same.)