Misinformation, Disinformation, and Mal-information

Lesson Plan

Activity 1: Reflect on How False Information Spreads

Share with your students that Professor David Rand, who has done research on the psychology of false information, has found that:

• People are more likely to believe any type of information if:
  • They hear it repeatedly (even if it initially seems far-fetched)
  • It reinforces their beliefs or activates their fears
  • It is from a trusted and/or influential source, including politicians
• People are more likely to believe false information if:
  • They do not think critically
  • They are distracted when they consume it
  • Their emotions are triggered by what they consume
  • They lack media literacy skills

Ask students to reflect on the following prompt in their journals:

• Think of a rumor, myth, or false news story that you have heard before. What do you think made it spread?
• How can false information impact the people who hear it?

Activity 2: Introduce the Concepts of Misinformation, Disinformation, and Malinformation

Share the following terms with students, explaining that these terms are preferable to the term “fake news,” which fails to capture the complexities concerning the different types of false and manipulated information, and which has been used by people to discredit information that is true:

• Misinformation (noun): False or inaccurate information that is spread by people who do not realize it is false or misleading.
  
  Example: Katie reads an article about the moon landing being fake. Believing it to be true, she shares it with her friends and family.
  
  Please note, this term is sometimes used as an umbrella term for all types of false or inaccurate information, shared with intent or not.

• Disinformation (noun): False or inaccurate information that is intentionally spread to mislead and manipulate people, often to make money, cause trouble, or gain influence.
  
  Example: Some influencers spread false information alleging that the 2023 Maui wildfire was caused by the United States testing a secret “weather weapon.” They shared altered images to boost this idea that has no basis in reality with the intention of undermining the legitimacy of the US government.


• Mal-information (noun): Information that is based on the truth, although it may be exaggerated or presented out of context, that is shared with an intent to attack an idea, individual, organization, country, or other entity.
  
  Example: Cropping an image in a way that makes the subject of the image look bad.

Then, invite students to discuss the following questions using the Think, Pair, Share strategy. 

• What might lead some people to create and share disinformation and mal-information?
• What examples of misinformation, disinformation, and mal-information have you seen or heard about?
• How can social media contribute to the spread of misinformation, disinformation, and mal-information?
• What impact can misinformation, disinformation, and mal-information have on individuals? On society?

Activity 3: Explore Practices that Spread Misinformation, Disinformation, and Mal-information

Explain to students that misinformation, disinformation, and mal-information are especially harmful because they can influence someone’s thinking long after they have been exposed to them, which makes them difficult to debunk. This is particularly true of anything that is believed at an emotional rather than rational level and any information that confirms people’s prior beliefs.

One of the best ways to protect people from misinformation, disinformation, and mal-information is to help them not fall for them in the first place. This can be done by helping people understand how they are spread as this helps people become “inoculated” to their effects, and by developing their media literacy and critical-thinking skills.

Invite students to participate in a gallery walk contained on the handout Types of Misinformation, Disinformation, and Mal-information, which highlights some of the ways in which misinformation, disinformation, and mal-information are spread, including intentional techniques that are used to deceive people.

As students are circulating, ask them to reflect on the following questions:

• What is this practice/technique?
• What are its potential impacts on those who consume content based on this practice/technique?
• What might motivate someone to use this practice/technique?
• How can the use of this practice/technique lead to the spread of false information?

Then, discuss the following question as a class:

• Which practices did you find the most surprising or troubling?

Activity 4: Countering Misinformation, Disinformation, and Mal-information

Explain to students that while it is not always easy to detect information that is false or manipulative, there are ways to minimize the likelihood of believing in and spreading misinformation, disinformation, and mal-information.

Project or distribute the handout Responding to Misinformation, Disinformation and Mal-information and read it with your students. Then, ask your students to choose one of the strategies and reflect on the following prompt in their journals:

• How do you think you, or the people you know, could use this strategy to prevent the spread of false or manipulative information?