Democracy is currently being threatened by fake news, misinformation, disinformation, and malfinformation (MDM), collectively known as false information. False information is not a new phenomenon; since the early ages, it has been used by states for multiple purposes, particularly in the context of war to boost the morale of the armed forces. However, the modern trend of technology, social media, and AI has altered the very way information is created and disseminated.
The nature, scope, and spread of information has changed substantially. Digital platforms and social media facilitate the rapid proliferation of fake news as anyone can write, post, and share any information without any need for verification.
Falsified or misleading information poses a formidable threat to democracy by misinforming public discourse, eroding trust between the rulers and the ruled, lowering voting turnout, fueling polarization, surging extremism, undermining the election process, and bringing populist rulers to power. The World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Risk Report 2024 underscored this growing concern, ranking false information as a significant threat to the stability of government and state. To combat this threat, a holistic approach is needed. This includes media literacy, an inoculation strategy, fact-checking mechanisms, and digital regulation.
Misinformation
Misinformation can be defined as a set of false or inaccurate information that may or may not intentionally mislead. Specifically, misinformation is the kind of false information where a person does not know whether the material that he/she is sharing is true or false.
Disinformation
Disinformation, as per the Cambridge Dictionary, is information that is disseminated intentionally, to deceive people. Thus, disinformation is false information that is shared deliberately with the intent to mislead people.
Malinformation
Malinformation, according to the Canadian Center for Cyber Security, refers to information that stems from the truth but is often exaggerated in a way that misleads and causes potential harm. Simply put, misinformation is based on facts and accurate data but is used out of context to deceive and harm people.
Fake News
Fake news, according to Talat Hussain, a renowned journalist, is information that is deliberately designed and meant to be exactly what it is–fake. It is created to deceive people.
The Societal Impact of False Information
False information can influence public behavior by altering the organic process of public opinion. Accurately informed citizens are the essence of democracy. However, fake news or MDM leads to poor decisions, such as not voting for a good leader. To illustrate, during primary elections in the state of New Hampshire, many people received calls in the voice of Joe Biden, who said, “We know the value of voting democrats. You must save your vote for the November elections. Voting this Tuesday only enables the Republicans in their quest to elect Donald Trump again.” The Biden administration denied the initiation of such a call, proving that it was an AI-generated sound meant to mimic Biden. In this way, people’s opinion is changed and shaped by misinformation.
Misinformation potentially leads to incorrect voting. Democracy thrives on active and honest participation. For an election to be free and fair, people must know the truth. When they have the facts, they can easily make up their mind about who to vote for. However, the increasing spread of misinformation on social media obfuscates the best course of action for voters, undermining their ability to vote correctly. For example, during the recent European Parliament elections, the far-right parties used social media to quickly make fake content regarding anti-immigration and anti-EU policies, aiming it at voters to change their perception as to who to vote for and how to do so.
Al-Jazeera uncovered a massive shadowy social media operation that was spreading far-right narratives on immigration, Islam, and Israel’s war on Gaza across the globe, particularly in Europe. This operation was dubbed “The Qatar Plot,” and is believed to have reached a minimum of 50 million people across Facebook, X, TikTok, and Telegram. From the middle of 2023, this operation flooded social media with anti-immigration and anti-Muslim content. Owing to the massive use of false information, the far-right secured a majority of the votes in several European states. Resultantly, misinformation led people to vote for parties that were not acting in the best interests of their countries.
Fake news and misinformation can reduce political participation by clouding the truth and accelerating distrust by distorting the perception of the election process. Usually, misinformation is propagated to highlight alleged irregularities and fraud in elections to attack the integrity of the election process. Through AI-generated audio-visuals, a fake scenario is created to shatter public trust in the way elections are conducted, leading to public delusion about politics. Notably, AI can construct images of political candidates doing something totally out of character, damaging their public image. For instance, in the Slovakia elections of 2023, a day before the election, an audio recording spread over social media with the voice of leading candidate, Miklal Simka, boasting about how he would rig the election in favor of his party. Using such tools, some anti-democrats want to restrain people from voting which in turn leads to a low turnout.
Falsified information shakes the very foundation of democracy by eroding trust between the ruler and the ruled. Institutions are the building blocks of a nation, as was described by Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson in their book “Why Nations Fail,” that it is trust in institutions that sets developed countries apart from developing ones. Conversely, in various states, it has been observed that the spread of misinformation regarding the government and its policies has eroded public trust in the institutions. For instance, incessant propaganda against the judiciary in Pakistan fostered skepticism towards the impartial role of the court. Recently, a fake video went viral that showed Supreme Court’s Justice Athar Minallah visiting former Prime Minister Imran Khan in prison after Khan complained about, allegedly, being denied the entitled facilities.
Recently ISPR’s Director General Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif dubbed it “digital terrorism” when terrorists use tools such as calls, computers, and false propaganda to damage the reputation of the armed forces and erode public trust in it. Likewise, fake news and misinformation regarding the policies of Macron’s administration, in France, caused widespread mistrust among the citizens, resulting in the 2024 election victory by a very narrow margin.
Owing to the trust deficit between the ruler and the ruled, several countries face severe economic crises that in turn disturb the democratic process. Political and economic stability feed each other; when people trust their establishments, they abide by the obligations imposed upon them as citizens. However, when they lose trust, they start to sidestep their responsibilities. To exemplify, Pakistan is confronted with a severe economic crisis, behind which, one of the most important factors, is tax evasion. Due to the consumption of false information, people have trust deficits regarding the functions of government institutions, resulting in tax evasion. As Ishrat Hussain proclaimed in his book “Governing the Ungovernable,” the trust deficit between the people and their institutions is one of the biggest reasons behind the economic crisis in Pakistan. The spread of fake news stories is threatening democracy by fueling the economic crisis in the country.
Fraudulent information promotes toxic narratives that obstruct the way of inclusive democracy. Fake narratives, intolerance, discrimination, and hate have the potential to erode democratic principles like justice, equality, and human rights. For instance, during the 2024 Indian elections, fake news and falsified reports massively permeated society, targeting minorities, particularly Muslims, through toxic narratives such as labeling Muslims “infiltrators.” This practice was revealed by Social Media Matters, a digital rights organization, that nearly 80% of India’s first-time voters are bombarded with fake news on popular social media platforms. The “Love Jihad” narrative was also built to incite the Hindu majority against the Muslims for indirect political support.
Fake news and MDM sow the seeds of polarization, eroding democratic values in society. Democracy requires a society that is based on the principle of “us.” However, fake news, by using the vehicle of social media, has divided society into two distinct poles where one pole considers the other its enemy. Notably, the new media algorithm is designed in such a way that looking at the previous search history of its user, it offers information that best suits their interests and views. Thus, the absence of confrontation with counter statements does not allow users to see alternative sources of information, creating an echo chamber of like-minded people. Therefore, whenever they see any content, no matter how distorted or fake it may be, it only reaffirms their established opinion and is accepted as the truth without any questioning. This kind of behavior in turn leads to the polarization of the society and enables manipulation.
Democracy will only thrive in a peaceful and pluralistic society. Misinformation challenges democracy by boosting extremism in society. Its rising trend provides solid breeding grounds for the extremists to flourish. Research has shown new media algorithms are featured in such a way that they try to imitate the human mind. Consequently, they often promote biased and hateful content. Notably, the current wave of extremism in Pakistan was observed in the tragic case of Mashal Khan, the lynching of Prakash Kumara, and the immolation of a tourist in Swat. These tragedies owe their existence to the devastating consequences of false information.
Having highlighted the consequential threats of false information to democracy, it is necessary to draw light on potential solutions to this growing challenge.
Potential Solutions
Understanding the Sandwich Rule
In this context, one of the most important things is the sandwich rule—sandwiching a lie between truths by repeating the truth multiple times. According to Nina Jankowicz, a journalist and expert on misinformation, if the truth is not repeatedly reinforced, people may eventually accept false information as true Therefore, from the journalist’s side as well as from the side of the general public, a constructive effort should be made to increasingly share the true nature of any false information and inform the people of what is factual and legitimate.
Critical Thinking
Furthermore, a possible strategy to tackle fake news is media literacy and educating critical thinking from an early age. Such programs should be arranged at the school level, enabling students to discern legitimate truth from falsehood. Lessons could be learned from the experience of Illinois, which introduced media literacy courses in their schools for the first time. Students should be encouraged to question the authenticity of information, its aim, and its appeal.
Inoculating Masses to Spot Fake News
Another potential solution that could work is the process of inoculating masses for misinformation. As Asim Biag, a journalist, explained, this is a process in which people’s attitudes can be made resistant to any persuasion or influence, similar to how a biological body becomes resistant to a viral contagion. Similarly, in this process, the general public is given weakened doses of false information, enabling them to resist any kind of misinformation in the future.
Additionally, in inoculation, a pre-emptive correction is done that is fact and logic-based. To illustrate it, the US administration preemptively predicted Russian justification for attacking Ukraine in February 2022. In various public transmissions, citizens in several countries were forewarned. People were made aware of how Putin would seek to make misleading claims to justify Ukraine’s invasion.
Fact-Checking
Moreover, consistent fact-checks by reputable media organizations are a proven strategy in combating false information. Applying this method helps identify and correct misinformation. However, this task is costly due to the enormous volume of material on social media. But, selecting just a few from thousands that circulate daily, for verification can be a good step. The government can utilize its tech-savvy citizens for fact-checking. In this context, brief inoculation games and videos can improve people’s ability to identify information.
International Collaboration to Tackle the Spread of Misinformation and Disinformation
International collaboration for the regulation of digital media is the need of the hour. There should be a mechanism for the verification of online platforms, such as the EU’s Digital Services Act, which regulates online platforms to prevent the spread of false information. EU countries can be consulted in this regard for collaboration and coordination.
In conclusion, democracy relies on authentic deliberation and accurately informed citizens that shape the decision-making process through transparency. However, the widespread proliferation of fake news online poses a significant challenge to the very basis of democracy. Eliminating it is essential. Empowering people to seek truth, sort fact from fiction, and discard falsehood is an essential building block to this pursuit, requiring a wider awareness of false information by both citizens and the government. Additionally, public communication at various levels, government, non-governmental organizations, the media, and the research community, should be encouraged to distribute evidence-based information and counter information when it seems likely to be used in a harmful and misguided manner.
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The views and opinions expressed in this article/paper are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Paradigm Shift.
She is a lecturer of Political Science at Government Girls Degree College, Timergara, with a strong academic background in the field. She has graduated with a distinction in Political Science from the University of Malakand.