During class, all of our groups gave presentations on the specified terms that we were assigned. One stuck out to me. It was Ryan Stewart's presentation on disinformation. Disinformation is information that is false, and deliberately created to harm a person, social group, demographic, organization, etc. In an age filled with fear of 'Fake News' and misleading stories, disinformation must be a concerning topic. There are two other topics that Ryan touched on, misinformation and mal-information. Misinformation is information that is false but not created with the intention of creating harm. Mal-information is based in reality but used for the purpose of harming a person, social group, demographic, organization, etc.
In my opinion the scariest of these three is absolutely disinformation. Spreading false information for the sole purpose of harming someone else is terrifying. Government's like the totalitarian regime of Adolf Hitler used forms of propaganda during the Holocaust to kill millions of people. This was indeed a form of disinformation. They spread false information for the purpose of harming a demographic of people. This spread of disinformation is what allowed the Germans to kill so many of the millions that they harmed.
It is crucial that journalists, the press, and all media outlets make sure to do their best to prevent disinformation from spreading. It can be the cause of severe hurt and tragedy. I feel it is our duty as citizens and supporters of the press and media to hold them to high standards and keep them in check.
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