7 T Y P E S O F M I S - A N D D I S I N FO R M AT I O N
Within these three overarching types of information
disorder, we also refer frequently to seven categories,
as we find that it helps people to understand the
complexity of this ecosystem.
They were first published by First Draft in February
2017 as a way of moving the conversation away from
a reliance on the term ‘fake news’. It still acts as a
useful way of thinking about different examples.
As the previous diagram shows, we consider this
to be a spectrum, with satire at one end. This is
a potentially controversial position and one of
many issues we will discuss over the course of this
book, through clickbait content, misleading content,
genuine content reframed with a false context,
imposter content when an organisation’s logo or
influential name is linked to false information, to
manipulated and finally fabricated content. In the
following chapters, I will explain each in detail and
provide examples that underline how damaging
information disorder has been in the context
of elections and breaking-news events around
the world.
CHAPTER 1
Satire or
parody
No intention to
cause harm but has
potential to fool.
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I N F O R M AT I O N D I S O R D E R
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