Disinformation can be defined as information that is incorrect and intentionally created to mislead the public; harm a person, organisation, social group, state or goal and achieve some interest (e.g. economic or political).
At least as popular – if not significantly more popular – the name for disinformation is “fake news”. This term is problematic for at least two reasons: first, because it is an oxymoron and insufficiently elaborated – if something is false then it is not news; the second, and even more important reason, because it is especially misused by politicians who use this term to try to discredit the media and journalists who report critically on them. Politicians frequently and often baselessly use the term fake news, further lowering the already low level of trust in the media. In addition, most of the content that contributes to information disruption is not completely false, but is taken out of context, consists of hearsay, is excessively biased, or some key information is deliberately omitted to make it more difficult to create whole disinformation.
It is important to note that not all incorrect information is misinformation. On the contrary, along with the pace of daily publication of information in the media, editorial offices also make unintentional mistakes, that is, the spread of inaccurate, insufficiently verified information and claims. That is why it is necessary to distinguish between misinformation and disinformation.
Both cases involve incorrect information, but the key difference lies in their intentions. While misinformation can be an inadvertent error, no misinformation is. The key characteristic of disinformation is precise that its inaccuracy is intentional, purposefully placed in order to mislead the recipients of the disinformation, stimulate their emotional reactions and achieve some political or financial goals. In other words, misinformation never happens by accident.
How to critically evaluate sources on the Internet?
Systematic checking of sources and assessment of their credibility enables us to choose the sources to be used consciously.
What is a source?
A source is a website or material from which you download information. According to the traditional approach to the critical evaluation of sources, we distinguish between written, oral and physical sources. It is possible to connect different types of sources on the Internet; for example, connect a certain text with a film in which someone reproduces information gathered from witnesses.
Critical evaluation of sources
Critical evaluation of sources means systematic checking of sources and assessment of their credibility. It is a method that allows us to consciously choose the sources we will use. One of the reasons it is difficult to critically evaluate sources on the Internet is that there is no agency that determines who can publish information on the Internet. Online sources can also be difficult to evaluate due to the abundance of information available.
Criteria for critical evaluation of sources
The methodology of critical evaluation of sources is based on four criteria:
- Authenticity – Is the source really who it claims to be? Is the content original or a copy? Is it authentic or fake?
- Actuality – Is the information up-to-date or are there newer findings? How long after a certain occurrence or event was the content created?
- Independence – Is the source independent or does the data depend on other sources? On what way?
- Objectivity – Is the information gathered from the source biased? What interests does the source represent? Is there conflicting information coming from other sources? How credible is this conflicting information?
How to critically evaluate sources in four easy steps:
- For texts: You can copy the title or the entire sentence from the original on a certain Internet page and paste them into the search engine with quotation marks at the beginning and end of the sentence.
- For images: You can use the Google image search feature (images.google.com). Right-click on the image and select Search Google for Image to learn more about it. Using the TinEye web service (www.tineye.com) you can upload an image in digital form or enter the exact URL of an individual image to find out where it was used.
- Audio material: With audio material, it’s hard to tell if a digital recording you’ve found online is authentic, but a search by file name can lead you to the right track.
- When critically evaluating video material, it is important to pay attention to the quality of the clip and the person responsible for uploading it. Comments related to the video clip in question can also serve as additional clues.
Biased information – online risks
Essentially, all information is biased to some extent. Always be aware of how certain information is biased and why. Here are some examples:
- Misleading content. Fake news and testimonials can spread from social media to mainstream media.
- Viral entertainment. Entertainment is created for two reasons: as entertainment for the recipient (who will pass it on to others) and to generate advertising revenue.
- Covert advertising. It is common practice to disguise advertising as journalism; this is called content marketing.
- Fraudulent business. Most people who regularly use the Internet have at some point encountered untrustworthy brokers and sellers.
- Rumors and slander. If told enough times, lies can eventually be accepted as truth. Just like in real life, it’s good to stay neutral about statements you can’t prove.
Online tools for critical evaluation of sources
The Domain Name System (DNS) can help you figure out who is behind a particular web address. Shorten the link from right to left and you’ll get the main address where information about who the content creator might be (after the www and before the top-level domain, such as .com). The complete list of top domains, including those of different countries, can be found at: www.iana.org/domains/root/db/
Who is behind certain content? If you want to find out who owns a domain, you can use the whois.com database, which provides information about registered domains.
Who else cited your source? There is an easy way to find out which pages are linked to the resource you want to check. If you enter the keyword link and a colon followed by the URL (link:www.blogspot.com) in the search engine field, you can use Google to find out which pages are linked to the address in question and how many there are.
QUESTIONS WHEN SEARCHING THE INTERNET
According to the latest estimates, there are currently 2 billion registered websites in the world. Before using information from certain Internet sites, be sure to evaluate them based on the following questions:
- Who is the sender? Is there an information page or a contact page? How would you rate the information you learned about the sender? How does this affect your content assessment?
- What is the purpose of the websites in question and how does their purpose affect the content? Does the site want to inform, present facts, advocate a certain opinion, sell something or entertain? Does it have more than one purpose? Is it funded by ads?
- Who is the target audience? Is the content complicated or easy to understand? Are the above statements true? Does the site list sources? Any information on when the page was last updated? Are the links valid?
- Can you get information from other sources? What other pages are linked to the page you are viewing?
Search engines
You should also critically evaluate the tools you use to find sources of information on the Internet. Most search engines are focused on making a profit and your online behavior can affect your search results. It would be interesting to enter the same keywords in several different search engines and compare the results obtained.
Duckduckgo.com is based on open source and does not store information about you as, for example, cookies and similar technologies do. Startpage.com sends your keywords to Google and then displays the answers on its own page. Google’s algorithms cannot use your user data to customize search results, so your search is anonymous from and to the homepage and Google.
In Croatia, the site for checking the factual accuracy of claims in the public space (fact-checking) is faktograf.hr
Sources:
Hoffmann, D., Klancir Đ., Radej, I., Tonković, M., Vranić, A., Vučković, M., Dezinformacije: Zašto uspijevaju i što možemo učiniti? Zagreb, Croatia. GONG. Retrieved from: https://gong.hr/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Dezinformacije-Zasto-uspijevaju-i-sto-mozemo-uciniti.pdf
Portal Medijskapismenost.hr. Agencija za elektroničke medije. Kako kritički vrednovati izvore na internetu. Retrieved from: https://www.medijskapismenost.hr/kako-kriticki-vrednovati-izvore-na-internetu/
