University of Kwazulu-Natal

Developing Resilience To Misinformation And Disinformation

Bonisiwe Shabane
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developing resilience to misinformation and disinformation

The United States National Security Strategy recognizes the need to combat misinformation and disinformation to employ integrated deterrence successfully. The Air Force Culture and Language Center addresses that priority through an educational video series on its Culture Guide app focused on helping total force Airmen and the Department of Defense develop resilience to... “Strategic competitors like Russia and China, as well as Violent Extremist Organizations and non-political disrupters, use misinformation and disinformation campaigns to recruit members to their cause, divide our society domestically, and create rifts between... Elizabeth Peifer, AFCLC’s Associate Professor of Regional and Cultural Studies (Europe). “We are less able to put up a strong defense if we are divided socially and if our alliances and partnerships are torn.” Dr.

Peifer’s academic interests include radicalism and extremism, public memory and narrative, and European security issues. These diverse research areas converge on the problem of disinformation and its impact on military operations. Her study of factors that make disinformation effective led to developing this series as a constructive and practical approach to the problem. The new four-part video series discusses vulnerabilities to misinformation and disinformation in the military setting and innovative tools and techniques for service members to detect, evaluate, and combat manipulative information to make informed decisions... Part one of the series provides an overview of the problem of disinformation and misinformation. Part two promotes greater self-awareness by analyzing aspects of cognitive behavior and social psychology that make individuals more susceptible to manipulation through disinformation.

Part three helps viewers gain situational awareness with an understanding of the Internet and patterns of disinformation in the digital landscape. And finally, part four concludes the series with practical ways to protect against misinformation and disinformation with tools and techniques for evaluating online sources. The Administration promised free expression. The results were anything but more freedom. With more than 22K instances since 2021, the bans have become normalized. Thu.

December 4 at The Strand Bookstore in NYC The PEN/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers recognizes 12 emerging writers each year for their debut short story Local censorship tactics are being adopted on the state and federal levels You have full access to this open access article A Correction to this article was published on 31 May 2025

This article addresses the critical issue of societal resilience in the face of disinformation, particularly in highly digitized democratic societies. Recognizing the escalating impact of disinformation as a significant threat to societal security, the study conducts a scoping review of the literature from 2018 to 2022 to explore the current understanding and approaches to... The core contribution of the article is the development of a preliminary typological framework that addresses key elements and issue areas relevant to societal resilience to disinformation. This framework spans multiple dimensions, including legal/regulatory, educational, political/governance, psychological/social-psychological, and technological domains. By synthesizing existing knowledge and filling identified gaps, the framework aims to serve as a foundational tool for empirical analyses and the enhancement of resilience strategies. One of the innovative aspects of the proposed framework is its potential to be transformed into a computable and customizable tool.

This tool would measure the maturity level of various countermeasures against disinformation, thereby providing a practical methodology for planning and implementing effective democratic responses to disinformation. The article emphasizes the importance of this framework as both a conceptual and practical guide. It offers valuable insights for a wide range of civil society actors, including policymakers, educators, and technologists, in their efforts to protect information integrity and bolster societal resilience. By laying the groundwork for a more comprehensive understanding of societal resilience to disinformation, the article contributes to the broader discourse on information protection and provides actionable guidance for addressing the evolving challenges posed... Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript. In highly digitized democratic societies, there are growing concerns about the impact of disinformation.

European countries have faced significant challenges related to disinformation issues, such as elections, fundamental democratic values, pandemics, and migration, among others. This has prompted the European Commission (2018a) to outline four pillars in its action plan on tackling online disinformation. These include improving institutional capabilities, fostering coordinated responses, engaging the private sector, and raising awareness. The Digital Services Act (European Union 2022) has binding regulatory powers to address large social media platforms, for instance, if they are deemed to be promoting and disseminating disinformation. However, the effectiveness of these measures remains uncertain. The Global Risks Report 2024 by the World Economic Forum (2024) clearly illustrates this, ranking disinformation as the most severe short-term (2-year) global risk and placing societal polarization in third place – with both...

Disinformation is more complex than ever, making media and information literacy education crucial. Image: Unsplash/Hartano Creatives The ability to critically engage with information is more important than ever. From viral falsehoods and deepfakes to emotionally manipulative content designed to mislead or divide, the information environment has become increasingly complex and opaque. In this context, media and information literacy have emerged as a global priority, recognized not only as a key individual skill set but also a foundational pillar for safeguarding democratic discourse, social cohesion and... Media and information literacy equips individuals with the tools to access, analyze, evaluate and create information responsibly, empowering them to navigate a digital ecosystem shaped by algorithmic curation, commercial incentives and evolving threats.

Yet, its significance extends beyond personal empowerment. As disinformation campaigns grow more sophisticated and pervasive, the need for a whole-of-society approach becomes clear, one that integrates media and information literacy into education systems, workplace training, public service messaging and digital platform... Introduction: The Disinformation Dilemma and the 2024 Election The 21st century presents a paradox: despite unprecedented access to information, the public is not necessarily better informed. The decline of traditional news, the rise of inflammatory content online, and the ease of creating and disseminating disinformation, particularly with AI tools, contribute to this problem. The 2024 presidential election highlighted these challenges, with disinformation campaigns ranging from AI-generated robocalls to false claims about social issues.

Xenophobia, transphobia, and racism further complicated the landscape, intertwining prejudice with perceptions of truth. Simultaneously, social media platforms scaled back content moderation, and legal pressures hampered counter-disinformation research, demanding innovative solutions. PEN America’s Localized Approach: Empowering Communities Against Disinformation PEN America’s Disinformation and Community Engagement (DCE) program addressed this challenge by focusing on local initiatives. Recognizing that disinformation is a global problem requiring localized solutions, the program piloted interventions in Miami, Dallas-Fort Worth, and Phoenix. These rapidly growing, diverse Sunbelt cities served as bellwethers for understanding how disinformation operates and how communities react to counter-programming.

The program aimed to distribute trustworthy information, amplify local perspectives on disinformation’s impact, and cultivate critical information consumption skills. While nonpartisan, the program acknowledged the highly polarized political climate surrounding the 2024 election and the frequent weaponization of the term "disinformation" itself. The Post-Election Landscape: Disinformation’s Enduring Power and the Need for Resilience This section includes a brief introductory module and four key modules Building Resilience to Misinformation: An Instructional Toolkit. The four key modules do not need to be explored in a sequential order and were last updated in Summer 2024.

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The United States National Security Strategy recognizes the need to combat misinformation and disinformation to employ integrated deterrence successfully. The Air Force Culture and Language Center addresses that priority through an educational video series on its Culture Guide app focused on helping total force Airmen and the Department of Defense develop resilience to... “Strategic competitors li...

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Peifer’s academic interests include radicalism and extremism, public memory and narrative, and European security issues. These diverse research areas converge on the problem of disinformation and its impact on military operations. Her study of factors that make disinformation effective led to developing this series as a constructive and practical approach to the problem. The new four-part video se...

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December 4 at The Strand Bookstore in NYC The PEN/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers recognizes 12 emerging writers each year for their debut short story Local censorship tactics are being adopted on the state and federal levels You have full access to this open access article A Correction to this article was published on 31 May 2025

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This article addresses the critical issue of societal resilience in the face of disinformation, particularly in highly digitized democratic societies. Recognizing the escalating impact of disinformation as a significant threat to societal security, the study conducts a scoping review of the literature from 2018 to 2022 to explore the current understanding and approaches to... The core contribution...