Falsehood flies, and truth comes limping after it.

All misconception is a distortion of the original, but the nature of that distortion can vary. Some misconceptions contain disinformation - deliberate false information designed to mislead people. However, many misconceptions centre on misinformation - misleading information resulting from unintentional mistakes.

Why a half-truth is so easy to believe

The reasons for unintentional mistakes can vary. For example: <ul><li>We reshape information every time it is shared with other parties, similar to a game of telephone.</li><li>We try to simplify more complicated concepts in our desire for clear stories about the world around us. However, when we hear a good story, we find it difficult to change how we see that information, even if exposed to new evidence.</li></ul>

Unintentional mistakes

How facts can become distorted and misleading.

How does a fact become a misconception? Dig into the world of misinformation to see how facts can become distorted and misleading. -- In 1901, David Hänig published research that led to what we know today as the taste map: an illustration that divides the tongue into four separate areas. It has since been published in textbooks and newspapers. There is just one problem: the map is wrong. So how do misconceptions like this spread, and what makes a fake fact so easy to believe? Joseph Isaac dives into the world of misinformation. Lesson by Joseph Isaac, directed by CUB Animation. Animator's website: http://cubanimation.com/en/intro-en/ Sign up for our newsletter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletter Support us on Patreon: http://bit.ly/TEDEdPatreon Follow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/TEDEdFacebook Find us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTwitter Peep us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TEDEdInstagram View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/why-people-fall-for-misinformation-joseph-isaac Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Maria Lerchbaumer, Ever Granada, Marin Kovachev, Ravi S. Rāmphal, Penelope Misquitta, Tekin Gültekin, Jhuval, Hans Peng, Gaurav Mathur, Erik Biemans, Tony, Michelle, Katie and Josh Pedretti, Vaibhav Mirjolkar, Thomas Bahrman, Allan Hayes, Aidan Forero, Uday Kishore, Mikhail Shkirev, Devesh Kumar, Sunny Patel, Anuj Tomar, Lowell Fleming, David Petrovič, Hoai Nam Tran, Stina Boberg, Alexandrina Danifeld, Kack-Kyun Kim, Travis Wehrman, haventfiguredout, Caitlin de Falco, Ken, zjweele13, Anna-Pitschna Kunz, Edla Paniguel, Elena Crescia, Thomas Mungavan, Alejandro Cachoua, Jaron Blackburn, Yoga Trapeze Wanderlust, Sandy Nasser, Venkat Venkatakrishnan, Nicolle Fieldsend-Roxborough, John Saveland, Jason Garcia, Robson Martinho, Martin Lau, Senjo Limbu, Joe Huang, SungGyeong Bae, Christian Kurch, Begum Tutuncu.

Stashed ideas

Why people fall for misinformation - Joseph Isaac

Misinformation is generally spread without malice or intent. Disinformation, on the other hand, is generally organized and has a specific outcome in mind. 
For example, during school days, the misinformation heard around Beef Jerky Sticks containing earthworms became so widespread that even now there are thousands of Google searches for the topic and the company even had special hotlines to handle questions.

Misinformation Vs Disinformation

Active social media listening is the best way to detect false information before it catches on. This is a baseline activity and its benefits reach far beyond identifying potential misinformation.Look at the data carefully to examine for a common language in comments or user-generated posts. Also, look broadly at posts your community managers are responding to and search for comments that might be otherwise overlooked in day-to-day community management (particularly if your team is large or the duty for responding rotates among different humans).

Protect Your Brand: Always Be Listening

Brands themselves sometimes contribute to a sense of confusion. Be extra clear about things that could cause confusion (like deals or things that have limited availability).  Also consider how you phrase Tweets and messages, especially if your brand is prone to phrasing things as a question. There are times when asking a question sparks community engagement. But it’s not always necessary. NPR, citing Betteridge’s Law, actually trains journalists to generally avoid it.

Brand Interactions

If you encounter false information it’s important to answer it with truth and link to a source where readers can further verify if they so choose. It is also important to do this promptly. If it is clear from a customer’s message that they are using your product or service and have encountered something that sparks a question, it’s probably not misinformation.

Correcting The Records

If someone shows up in your feed for the first time with clearly false information, take a moment to look at their other posts. Check to see if they’re a prospect or customer. If not, it is possible it may be a troll out to spread bad information about you.

Find The Source

What's the difference between misinformation and disinformation? And how can your brand prepare and respond to it?

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