As the 2024 US Presidential election draws closer, mass amounts of misinformation and disinformation are circulating online.
But what is misinformation and disinformation, and how can users spot it?
"Misinformation is defined as: false assertions or false content that's spread by someone or something, like an organisation, without them knowing that it's false," said digital media expert Associate Professor Timothy Graham.
"Disinformation may be the same content . . . but the individual or the entity that's spreading it is aware that it's false."
A/Prof Graham said false information might be spread to "gain some advantage".
But identifying false information online is difficult, particularly when facts are taken out of context.
"That decontextualising . . . means that it gets picked up in all sorts of other places and can be spread as false, or can be misinterpreted," he said.
Combatting false information online isn't an easy fix, but A/Prof Graham said there are things we can do daily.
"Asking yourself: is this something that I want to be sharing? Or perhaps there's someone who might have not-so-great intentions behind them.
"And: what is the source? Where is that coming from?" A/Prof Graham said.
"It begins with solidarity and this kind of activism. You can't really do anything unless you get lots of people to move together, advocating for cultural changes.
"Trying to change the culture is the really key thing."
This episode of SBS Examines looks at the history and meaning of the terms 'misinformation' and 'disinformation,' and explores how we can help stop the spread of false information online.
