University of Kwazulu-Natal

Misinformation On Misinformation Conceptual And Methodological Challen

Bonisiwe Shabane
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misinformation on misinformation conceptual and methodological challen

This item is licensed under a Creative Commons License Misinformation On Misinformation: Conceptual And Methodological Challenges Altay, Sacha; Berriche, Manon; Acerbi, Alberto Covid-19 Misinformation, Fake News and Politicization, Mis- and Disinformation, Mis- and Disinformation, Twitter Research Sign-up to our newsletter to be informed about latest developments: our Unpacking Current Developments in the Information Space Insight Series, our newsletter, news from our network, events and publications. 2025 - Observatory on Information & Democracy

One of the reasons why political discussions in the West rarely go very far is because the theory of “brainwashing” has near-universal acceptance. The very notion of working out a disagreement through dialogue is seen as ridiculous — no matter what you believe, the other side is hopelessly “brainwashed” by immeasurably powerful media, so what’s the point? Faith in this theory defeats many Communists before they even begin trying. Whenever I decisively oppose the propagation of this theory of “brainwashing,” [1] its fervent advocates bray back “It’s backed by science!”. But this isn’t true! As the peer-reviewed, open-access article reproduced below clearly demonstrates, the theory of “brainwashing” is not backed by science:

“There is no such thing as ‘brainwashing.’ Information is not passed from brain to brain like a virus is passed from body to body. […] The virus metaphor, all too popular during the COVID-19 pandemic — think of the ‘infodemic’ epithet — is misleading. It is reminiscent of outdated models of communication (e.g., ‘hypodermic needle model’) assuming that audiences were passive and easily swayed by pretty much everything they heard or read. […] These premises are at odds with what we know about human psychology and clash with decades of data from communication studies.” I do understand that, precisely for the reasons laid out by these researchers, merely putting this knowledge out there won’t and can’t alter people’s attachment to the narrative — it has its roots elsewhere. That said, it’s brilliant work, and we hope it becomes far better known!

— R. D. Alarmist narratives about online misinformation continue to gain traction despite evidence that its prevalence and impact are overstated. Drawing on research examining the use of big data in social science and reception studies, we identify six misconceptions about misinformation and highlight the conceptual and methodological challenges they raise. The first set of misconceptions concerns the prevalence and circulation of misinformation.

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