Disinformation goes way back in our human history. In 1588, the Spanish armada’s hundred-plus ships and 26,000 men set sail for England, to overthrow the Protestant Queen Elizabeth I and restore Catholic rule.  But the actual story that was presented to the public had England winning. History allows us to write different pasts that serve us better. Spinning the story, changing the narrative, gaslighting. All of these are efforts to align the story with those who want to be declared the winners. Barak Obama gave us a list to help us learn about disinformation. There are a lot of hard-working folks contributing to keeping our Democracy safe from the destruction of disinformation. So many families, friend groups, and work environments have been eroded over the last five years by Misinformation, Disinformation, and Malinformation. Here are resources to learn more.

My reports from the Threatcasting Lab provide data for what happens when all of these collide. They create Information Disorder Machines. Threatcasting Report: Information Disorder Machines

The Aspen Institute’s Commission on Information Disorder produced the Commission on Information Disorder Final Report. The Commission’s report is the culmination of that in-depth investigation. Offering a viable framework for action, it makes 15 recommendations for how government, private industry, and civil society can help to increase transparency and understanding, build trust, and reduce harm.

Wired offers an article on How to Stop Misinformation Before It Gets Shared

Look for companies that take a stand against misinformation such as Pinterest which has banned all climate change disinfo from their platform.

There are also great resources that help with Covid disinfo conversations.

Help your family and friends learn how to keep their minds open and their opinions based on real data – not data from their 3rd cousins, dogwalkers, hairstylist on Facebook. Get real data to them and resources for how to read and analyze what they are seeing.