Disinformation is on the rise as various media platforms make it easy for anyone to smear an enterprise for fun, strategic advantage, political gain, or even outright blackmail. Coping with this trend is proving to be both challenging and expensive.
Disinformation is the deliberate spreading of false information with the intent to deceive or manipulate a target audience, often for political, economic or social gain, states Craig Watt, a threat intelligence consultant with cybersecurity firm Quorum Cyber. “This is different from misinformation, which is the sharing of false information without ill intent,” he observes in an online interview.
Disinformation can arrive in various forms, including propaganda, industrial sabotage, and conspiracy theories, says George Vlasto, head of trust and safety at Resolver, a unit of Kroll, a risk and financial advisory services firm. “The common theme is a narrative-based attack on a specific issue, entity or person,” he notes via email.
Disinformation Damage
Disinformation can hurt an enterprise in several ways. Perhaps the most pernicious harm is reputational damage resulting from the spread of false information. “This can lead to a loss of trust among clients and partners,” Watt says. “Erosion of trust can also manifest within the organization itself, affecting employee morale and productivity.”
Direct financial losses can occur if false information is spread about a company’s financial stability, resulting in plummeting stock prices, Watt says. “Disinformation can also disrupt business operations if false information is disseminated regarding things such as supply chain issues.”
Specific disinformation can quickly metastasize into widespread misinformation, Vlasto warns. “If a particular piece of disinformation is widely shared by unwitting Internet users, it can rapidly become difficult to contain and may have a significant impact on brand reputation,” he says. “Widely shared false allegations, even when disproved, can linger in the public imagination for a long time.”
A Growing Threat
Disinformation is definitely on the rise, Watt says. “Technology advancements within social media and other digital platforms have made it easier to spread disinformation quickly and to a widespread demographic,” he explains. “Additionally, advancements in artificial intelligence have enabled the creation of more sophisticated and convincing false content.”
Most ominously, disinformation is increasingly being weaponized as a tool for political and social manipulation, often by state-sponsored campaigns that aim to influence elections, destabilize societies, and undermine democratic institutions, Watt warns.
Protection Strategies
The most effective way to protect against disinformation is to own the narrative, Vlasto states. “Monitor disinformation trends relevant to your sector and preempt these [falsehoods] with clear factual updates about your business,” he says.
Having a well-understood playbook in place to counter false narratives is also important, especially during significant political or business events, Vlasto says. “For example, if you’re engaged in a sensitive M&A process, consider how you would respond to false information about the potential transaction,” he explains.
Protecting against disinformation involves a combination of awareness, critical thinking, and proactive measures, Watt says. Verify sources by checking their credibility and reputation before believing or sharing information, he suggests. “Information should also be cross-referenced across multiple reliable sources to ensure its accuracy.”
“Verify, verify, verify, and make sure the information is coming from the best and highest source,” recommends Lisa Silverman, a senior managing director at risk and financial crimes advisory firm K2 Integrity. “If someone sends you something, ask where they got their information and, ideally, verify it through another — hopefully an unbiased and trusted — source.”
If information seems truly wacky, double- and triple-check it, Silverman suggests. Yet also understand that seemingly preposterous information can sometimes be true. “We recently had a situation where a retired and very senior military officer had been reporting a piece of information about his career for about 10 years,” she says. “When we undertook what we thought would be a routine verification as part of a larger project, that information turned out to be completely inaccurate.” This revelation caused significant concern for the client, Silverman says, “yet the matter was eventually addressed without the public scandal that would have occurred if the facts had come out in a different way.”
Critical Thinking
Watt advises individuals and teams to embrace critical thinking and to always be skeptical of sensational claims and clickbait headlines. “Before sharing any information, take a moment to verify its authenticity,” he recommends. Sharing false information, even unintentionally, can contribute to the problem. Watt also recommends disinformation targets to report the fabrication to the operator of the platform where it was found.
Vlasto believes that maintaining situational awareness is essential for spotting the migration of a narrative from the margins to the mainstream. “Like any risk mitigation strategy, the best way to deal with disinformation is at the greatest distance from your core interests,” he suggests. “Don’t wait until the digital barbarians are at the gate — plan your response options in advance and ensure you have early visibility of emerging risks.”
Looking Forward
“We can’t control the intent of disinformation actors or the capabilities at their disposal,” Watt acknowledges. “However, by gaining awareness of how disinformation tactics are employed, we can begin to halt the progress of these campaigns and contribute to the free sharing of legitimate content.”