“More than 80% of dentists recommend Colgate”
– A UK Marketing Campaign
The quote for this blog post is an excellent example of misinformation, or better yet, malinformation, which is when information is intentionally shared out of context (Matthew & Muhammed, 2022). It is a case where factual information, in this instance, dentists recommending Colgate, is shared intentionally out of context (Sharp, 2019).
This quote from a UK advertising campaign is most likely understood as dentists recommending Colgate over other brands. As Sharp (2019) explains, Dentists were asked to recommend multiple toothpastes; it just so happened that 80% listed Colgate along with other brands.
As part of the MALAT (Master of Arts in Learning and Technology) program, Darren Fischer and I explored misinformation in detail, examining how impactful Digital Learning Environments are on this subject, whether good or bad.
Our collaborative effort led us to delve into the topic of misinformation, exploring various definitions and real-life examples. Together, we discussed and explored examples of misinformation and how Digital Learning Environments may foster and or mitigate it.
We invite you to join us, Darren and I, in this in-depth discussion on misinformation and its impact on Digital Learning Environments. Your insights and perspectives are highly valued in this ongoing conversation.
References
Boyd, D. (2011). Social network sites as networked publics: Affordances, dynamics, and implications. In Z. Papacharissi (Ed.), A Networked Self (pp. 39–58). https://www.danah.org/papers/2010/SNSasNetworkedPublics.pdf
Mathew, K. Muhammed, S. (2022, February 15). The disaster of misinformation: a review of research in social media. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41060-022-00311-6
McGrew, S., Ortega, T., Breakstone, J., & Wineburg, S. (2017). The challenge that’s bigger than fake news. American Educator, 41(3), 4-9. https://www.aft.org/ae/fall2017/mcgrew_ortega_breakstone_wineburg
Pappas, S. (2022, January 1). Fighting fake news in the classroom. Monitor on Psychology, 53(1). https://www.apa.org/monitor/2022/01/career-fake-news
Szymaniak, K., Zajenkowski, M., Fronczyk, K., & Kwiatkowska, M. M. (2023). Trait anger and approach motivation are related to higher endorsement of specific and generic conspiracy beliefs. Journal of Research in Personality. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2023.104258
Interesting thoughts! The idea of malinformation was new to me.
I’ve often thought about the “War of the Worlds” example and wondered about the impact of technology in raising the credibility or believability of a message. Does the “high tech” nature of the medium increase influence of the message? Is there a reflected credibility from the novelty of an emerging tech medium? As you discuss, I also am curious how the interactive nature of “clicks and likes” social media influences our willingness to believe what we read online–and I also wonder how such effects carry over into digital learning environments.