A New SPIN on Misinformation
We all stretch the truth from time to time.1 The real problem is when our lies spread to thousands of people, assisted by recent technological advancements such as social media or artificial intelligence.2, 3 This has a real impact on the decisions people make—such as who to vote for or whether to get vaccinated.
You’re probably already familiar with this phenomenon—it’s called misinformation: the dissemination of false or misleading information.4, 5, 6
Our latest research at The Decision Lab identified and organized the different types of misinformation into a taxonomy called Sorting Potentially Inaccurate Narratives (SPIN). We hope this tool can help both individuals and organizations combat misinformation to make the best decisions possible.
What is a Misinformation Taxonomy?
A taxonomy is a system of classification based on specific guidelines. In particular, misinformation taxonomies attempt to achieve two things:
- List all the relevant types of misinformation
- Organize misinformation based on criteria
The ultimate goal behind these taxonomies is to guide future interventions to teach participants how to identify and, in turn, combat misinformation.
Most misinformation taxonomies in the past have been tailored to specific fields—such as education or politics—to create solutions that directly address problems within that context.7, 8, 9, 10, 11 In contrast, our goal was for our taxonomy to include as many different types of misinformation out there as possible. This way, we could determine which interventions work in some situations but not others.
References
- Sai, L., Shang, S., Tay, C., Liu, X., Sheng, T., Fu, G., ... & Lee, K. (2021). Theory of mind, executive function, and lying in children: a meta‐analysis. Developmental Science, 24(5), e13096.
- Kaiser, J., & Rauchfleisch, A. (2018). Unite the right? How YouTube’s recommendation algorithm connects the US far-right. D&S Media Manipulation.
- Tufekci, Z. (2018). YouTube, the great radicalizer. The New York Times, 10(3), 2018.Van der Linden, S., Leiserowitz, A., Rosenthal, S., & Maibach, E. (2017). Inoculating the public against misinformation about climate change. Global challenges, 1(2), 1600008.
- Lewandowsky, S., Ecker, U. K., Seifert, C. M., Schwarz, N., & Cook, J. (2012). Misinformation and its correction: Continued influence and successful debiasing. Psychological science in the public interest, 13(3), 106-131.
- Shao, C., Ciampaglia, G. L., Varol, O., Yang, K. C., Flammini, A., & Menczer, F. (2018). The spread of low-credibility content by social bots. Nature communications, 9(1), 1-9.
- Vosoughi, S., Roy, D., & Aral, S. (2018). The spread of true and false news online. science, 359(6380), 1146-1151.
- Kapantai, E., Christopoulou, A., Berberidis, C., & Peristeras, V. (2021). A systematic literature review on disinformation: Toward a unified taxonomical framework. New media & society, 23(5), 1301-1326.
- Kozyreva, A., Lewandowsky, S., & Hertwig, R. (2020). Citizens versus the internet: Confronting digital challenges with cognitive tools. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 21(3), 103-156.
- Molina M, Sundar S, Le T, et al. (2019) “Fake news” is not simply false information: a concept explication and taxonomy of online content. American Behavioral Scientist. Epub ahead of print 14 October. DOI: 10.1177/0002764219878224.
- Rojecki, A., & Meraz, S. (2016). Rumors and factitious informational blends: The role of the web in speculative politics. New Media & Society, 18(1), 25-43.
- Wardle, C., & Derakhshan, H. (2017). Information disorder: Toward an interdisciplinary framework for research and policymaking (Vol. 27, pp. 1-107). Strasbourg: Council of Europe.
- Roozenbeek, J. (2019). Fake news game confers psychological resistance against online misinformation. Palgrave Communications, 5(1), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-019-0279-9
About the Authors
Dan Pilat
Dan is a Co-Founder and Managing Director at The Decision Lab. He is a bestselling author of Intention - a book he wrote with Wiley on the mindful application of behavioral science in organizations. Dan has a background in organizational decision making, with a BComm in Decision & Information Systems from McGill University. He has worked on enterprise-level behavioral architecture at TD Securities and BMO Capital Markets, where he advised management on the implementation of systems processing billions of dollars per week. Driven by an appetite for the latest in technology, Dan created a course on business intelligence and lectured at McGill University, and has applied behavioral science to topics such as augmented and virtual reality.
Dr. Sekoul Krastev
Sekoul is a Co-Founder and Managing Director at The Decision Lab. He is a bestselling author of Intention - a book he wrote with Wiley on the mindful application of behavioral science in organizations. A decision scientist with a PhD in Decision Neuroscience from McGill University, Sekoul's work has been featured in peer-reviewed journals and has been presented at conferences around the world. Sekoul previously advised management on innovation and engagement strategy at The Boston Consulting Group as well as on online media strategy at Google. He has a deep interest in the applications of behavioral science to new technology and has published on these topics in places such as the Huffington Post and Strategy & Business.
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