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The internet has become fundamental to our daily lives, providing us with endless opportunities for education, entertainment, and communication. However, our dependence on the internet also exposes users to the risk of encountering disinformation and misinformation. When we consider that children are also spending more time online than ever before, it is important to discuss the role digital literacy plays as a safeguard against false information.

In essence, digital literally is the skills needed to live, learn and work in a society that relies on digital technology.

Digital literacy is essential in promoting critical thinking over what information is consumed on the internet, which allows users to develop a well-rounded perspective on important topics, and also the ability to spot misinformation and disinformation. Additionally, digital literacy can serve as a shield against potential online threats, such as phishing or scams.

In this article, we will discuss the importance of digital literacy, strategies to avoid falling prey to misinformation and disinformation, and protecting children online.

What is misinformation and disinformation?

First, it's important to understand the difference between misinformation and disinformation.

• Misinformation: False and harmful information that is not shared with malicious intent. The sharer may fully believe the information is true.
• Disinformation: False and harmful information that is shared with malicious intent, where the sharer knows it is inaccurate.

Both misinformation and disinformation refer to incorrect information, though disinformation is wrong on purpose and has malicious intent.

Misinformation and disinformation have several real world dangers. For example:

• Dividing populations: Disinformation can be a powerful tool in swaying public opinion in the political arena. By portraying governments or certain ideologies as incompetent, it can be used to manipulate public perception and influence decision-making.
• Manipulation: Disinformation and disinformation can create confusion and misunderstanding about important social and political issues.
• Inspiring real world violence: Disinformation can have severe consequences, ranging from instigating online witch hunts to fuelling conspiracy theories. Ultimately, it can put individuals at physical risk.
• Cyber crime and phishing: Phishing scams and cyber crime can be made even more effective through disinformation exploits. Cybercriminals may use emotional appeals, urgent requests, and false information to trick victims into falling for scams.
• Damage to brand reputation: Disinformation campaigns can take many forms, from review bombing to the use of generative AI and deep fakes to impersonate brand materials or even prominent figures.

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Digital literacy: How to combat misinformation and disinformation

Disinformation and misinformation spreads rapidly compared to real information because it often appeals to emotions and is manipulative in nature. Examples include:

• Manipulated content: Content that was originally genuine, but has been doctored to suggest something false.
• Misleading content: Content that contains inaccurate conclusions from limited information.
• Fabricated content: Content that is completely false.
• Satire or parody passed as true content: Content that is typically used for entertainment that can be repurposed and passed off as true information.
• Propaganda content: Content that is used to manipulate the attitudes of online users - often on political or ideological lines.
• Sponsored content: Content that is framed as impartial or editorial, but is actually sponsored and is advertising a particular product or service.
• Clickbait and misleading headlines: Using sensationalist headlines that do not match the story.
• Troll content: Trolling content that is often found in the comment sections of websites and designed to spread false or upsetting information.
• Hacked content: Content that has been maliciously planted in places such as media outlets or social media without the persimmon of the owner organisation.

How to avoid misinformation and disinformation

In today's world, where information can spread quickly through social media platforms, search engines, and personalised feeds, it is important to consider how to spot misinformation and disinformation. Whether created by humans or AI, bad faith actors or "trolls", this kind of content can be created at scale, making it all the more crucial to be digitally literate and regularly employ strategies for identifying and being aware of false information.

• Maintain scepticism: First and foremost, maintain healthy scepticism of information consumed online. With this approach, it becomes more difficult to fall into the trap of believing in disinformation or misinformation at the first instance.
• Use a wide array of sources: Check multiple sources to confirm the validity of the information being reported - but keep in mind that trustworthy news outlets can also get the facts wrong. Also, ask questions like the source of the information, the source's background, and who might benefit from the story.
• Avoid confirmation bias: It is common knowledge that it can be easier to believe information that confirms your own experiences. However, it's important to consider more neutral and supplementary sources for information, rather than relying solely on influencers, editorials, or blogs.
• Be critical of information: Information that is unsupported by statistics, reports, or witnesses etc should not be immediately believed.
• Fact check: Use fact checking websites such as BBC Verify and Full Fact.
• Keep an eye out for fake content:
  • Imagery: To check for doctored imagery, use tools such as Google reverse search or Google lens to locate the original source. Regarding AI-generated images, while they have become more advanced, there are still ways to spot them. Look for unnatural positioning of accessories such as jewellery, scarves, or bag straps, awkward hand and finger placement, blurred backgrounds, and nonsensical text.
  • Video/Audio: Just like detecting edited images, identifying manipulated videos and audio is all about the small details. Deepfake videos, for instance, may include awkward or unnatural movements that are robotic in appearance. Their mouth movements may also be out of sync with the audio. Additionally, there could be discrepancies between the speaker and the background, resulting in unusual lighting. Regarding general doctored videos and audio, certain red flags include unnatural visual or audio cuts, as well as instances where the video or audio seems to be sped up or slowed down.

Digital literacy for children: Helping kids think about disinformation and misinformation

With more and more children spending time online, it's crucial to educate them on the dangers of misinformation and disinformation and how to avoid it. In today's world of social media, clickbait, and algorithm-based content, it can be challenging for young people to distinguish between what's real and what's not. Here are some best practices to help children build digital literacy skills at a young age:

• Explain the differences between different content types: Explain the differences between news articles, editorials, blogs, social media/influencer content, and why it is important to have diverse sources of information.
• Use disinformation and misinformation checking tools: Explain how there are fact checking websites available such as BBC Verify and show them how to use them.
• Review examples of misinformation: One of the best ways to teach children how to detect misinformation is by taking an interactive approach. You can do this by reviewing the common signs of misinformation, as outlined above, and asking children to identify examples of why the information may be false.
• Discuss misinformation and disinformation openly: Explain how, just because information is widely shared on social media or suggested by algorithms, it isn't necessarily true.
• Be a positive role model: Recommend trustworthy sources of information.
• Encourage media literacy and critical thinking: Regularly ask children about what they have seen online and help them reflect on the information they have learned.
• Tech privacy and security measures: One way to reduce the likelihood of pop-up clickbait articles is by installing ad blockers. You should also consider blocking unsafe websites for an additional layer of protection.
• Read beyond the headline: Teach them why it is important to read beyond the headline and examine the information closely.

Why You Should Attend the Trust & Safety Summit UK

Digital literacy is essential for fighting misinformation and disinformation online. By understanding the difference between misinformation and disinformation, learning how to spot it, and using tools to verify sources, online users, and especially children, can better protect themselves from the harmful effects of false content.

Join us for engaging discussions with a range of online safety experts on topics such as:

Child Safety & Protection
Regulatory Preparedness
Advanced Moderation
Restoring Trust
Age Verification & Assurance
Operational Trust & Safety
Modern Online Harms
Trust & Safety At Scale

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