Disinformation During A Pandemic Can Cause Pandemonium

We are all spending an incredible amount of time on the Internet these days. For many of us it is our only connection to the outside world.

It comes as no surprise to see a large uptick in the amount that people are posting, commenting, liking and anger tweeting. We have all been drawn in at some point or another into the social media arguments. I don’t think any of us can deny that. Whether a relative posts something political that we disagree with and can’t scroll past without commenting or a friend who posts an article or a photo completely in line with our sociopolitical beliefs, so much so that we need to put a heart below it ensuring that they are affirmed in their beliefs as are we.

What also shouldn’t come as a surprise is that many of these posts, however innocent they may seem, oftentimes have an ulterior motive.

I was able to attend (albeit virtually) a very interesting lecture hosted by Salve Regina University’s Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy. The speaker, Dr. James Ludes is a professor at the university and was a legislative assistant to Senator John Kerry for defense and foreign policy. His lecture, titled “COVID-19 and Foreign Disinformation” was about foreign powers utilizing disinformation with the objective of altering the way we interact with others and inciting anger and hatred.

According to Dr. Ludes, Russia has used disinformation as a means to cause social unrest since as far back as 1959. In fact, the very word “disinformation” is suspected to be a bastardization of the Russian word desinformatsiya.

During, but especially after the Cold War, Russia launched extreme campaigns to spread false news stories to cause social unrest. According to Ludes, during the HIV/AIDS epidemic, Russia planted one specific story that the virus was created by the U.S. to kill off people of African descent. It took years for the story to become widespread, but it managed to affect both viewpoints both within the U.S. and outside its borders as well.

That is the point: to weaken the country internally and in the eye’s of people from other countries.

Before the advent of social media, it may have taken four years for one planted story to gain widespread notoriety, now it only takes a matter of minutes for a story to be seen by millions.

It has been proven that Russia swayed public opinion during the 2016 U.S. elections and there is no doubt that Russia is now planting stories and images to stir up our emotions about COVID-19.

Last year, the U.S. State Department released a report called “Weapons of Mass Distraction: Foreign State-Sponsored Disinformation in the Digital Age.” It states that, “on average, a false story reaches 1,500 people six times more quickly than a factual story.”

That is some scary stuff, but highly believable…ironically enough.

Some of you might think “Oh, I am too smart to be sucked into interacting with a false post,” but you would be surprised. They aren’t all about trying to incite irrational nationalism, they are trying to pit us all against each other.

You are just as likely to fall victim to seeing a photo or an article that confirms your beliefs systems as you are seeing something that makes your blood boil. They are casting the net wide.

Basically, anything that evokes extreme emotions, could be bots or the Russian government or some kid sitting in his basement, trying to get you to click, share and cause more people to react, which if it goes on long enough, can help cause social unrest.

And it’s not just Russia. China and Iran are also accused of using disinformation against the United States. Similar narratives all stemming from IP addresses (although not always traceable) from these countries are currently running rampant on social media these days. Covid-19 is man made, that it didn’t come from China, that Covid-19 is a bioweapon all feel very similar to the story that the Russian government planted in Africa about the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

However, some of these stories aren’t expertly contrived by government masterminds. Some just stem from our sheer stupidity. Take the picture of dolphins swimming in the canals of Venice. National Geographic debunked the story and found the person who created the original tweet in India.

I know plenty of people that shared that story. I even believed it before I read the National Geographic article.

My point is, remember that the Internet is the Wild West and highly manipulated. Instead of taking years or months to change public opinion, outside forces can do it at a much quicker rate now.

They aren’t just trying to target the far right, they want all of us to attack on another.

Check sources on photos, videos and articles, then check those sources. Outside interference can be elaborate in design, down to using authentic photos of real people in profiles posting disinformation.

You have the time these days, do some journalistic digging. Try to find multiple reputable sources that can confirm the validity of what you are about to react or share.

If you suspect something is fishy and don’t want to do the digging, just don’t engage at all. Simple.

Just like a wave starts with a small breeze that is the impetus to put it all in motion, so do these posts. With each click, share or like they gain momentum and power. Just like a wave that gains so much energy it can destroy bodies, shorelines and buildings, so too can this disinformation cause pandemonium for us, especially during times of uncertainty.

Remember that we still hold the ultimate power of deciding whether we are going to stand united or divided. Don’t let the bots win.