Theoretical Typology of Deceptive Content (Conspiracy Theories)

Theoretical typology of deceptive content (Conspiracy Theories)

AUTHOR work can be applied to systematically different- Jing Zeng iate concepts related to misinformation. In the field of media and communication studies, KEYWORDS as research on digital misinformation continues misinformation, disinformation, rumour, gossip, to grow, it is crucial for researchers to unders- urban legend, propaganda, and conspiracy theories tand the contexts of each concept and choose the appropriate term in accordance with their BRIEF DESCRIPTION research agenda. It is worth noting that there are The conceptual fuzziness of terms like misin- also overlapping dimensions between these con- formation, disinformation, rumour, gossip, concepts. For instance, rumour can contain misin- spiracy theories has been discussed by various formation, and conspiracy theories can be used scholars (e.g. DiFonzo & Bordia, 2007; Rojecki for propaganda. & Meraz, 2016). In both academic research and media reports, it is common to see these terms EXAMPLE STUDY being used interchangeably. To develop better Zeng (2018) understanding of how and why different forms of misinformation operate, it is important to cla- INFORMATION ON ZENG, 2018 rify the conceptual boundaries between these Author: Jing Zeng terms in a meaningful way. Interest of the study: In her study on online rumours during times of crises, Zeng (2018) ap- FIELD OF APPLICATION/THEORETICAL FOUNDATION plies DiFonzo and Bordia’s (2007) framework to In their social psychology research, DiFonzo differentiate seven seemingly similar concepts: and Bordia (2007) propose an effective way to misinformation, disinformation, rumour, gos- differentiate rumour from other terms, which sip, urban legend, propaganda, and conspiracy emphasises the content, function, and context theories. of each concept. This three-dimensional frame-

Table 1. Summary of main features of seven concepts related to misinformation.

Content Context Function

Misinformation Inaccurate information Any circumstances of Does not have to have information circula- any specific function tion.

Gossip Talk about individuals Shared between indivi- Maintaining network, or private behaviour duals or in casual social interpersonal relations events.

https://doi.org/10.34778/5g © 2021, the authors. This work is licensed under the “Creative Commons Attribution – NonCommercial – NoDerivatives 4.0 International” license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) 1 | 4 Content Context Function

Urban legend Meaning-making, Casual setting for story- Promote cultural and value-endorsing stories telling. moral values related to contemporary life

Disinformation Deliberately deceptive Disseminated by insti- Undermine public information tutions. support

Propaganda Messages instrumental- Following a top-down Promote political and ly disseminated to pro- pattern, disseminated ideological values mote a political cause by official sources.

Rumour Unofficial information Circulated in circums- Make sense of an un- unverified by authori- tances of ambiguity, certain circumstance ties danger or threat.

Conspiracy Proposed explanations Emerged in responses Serves as a threat theory of an event or a practice to uncertainty and management response, that refer to the machi- perceived threats posed and often also as an nations of influential by a coalition of elites/ anti-establishment/anti- people, institutions, or secret actors, and cons- science, political and a secret society tructed as ‘alternative’ ideological stance

Misinformation is the most generic one among als share gossip in the context of managing their these terms, in the sense that it does not empha- relationship with members within their social sise the social and political dimension of infor- group. For instance, early literature on gossip mation. The concept of misinformation is mostly associated the practice of gossiping with fema- discussed in tandem with information, particu- le social networking. As Rysman (1977) pointed larly by Information Science scholars. As a form out, one key reason behind the patriarchal cri- of information, the defining feature of misinfor- ticism on female gossiping is gossip’s ability ‘to mation is its inaccuracy. Such inaccuracy is not develop social ties outside the institution of male necessarily caused by false information, but can dominance’ (p. 176). This personal and interper- also be caused by irrelevant and incomplete in- sonal focus on the concept of gossip is its most formation. distinctive feature. Gossip is also a form of unverified information; however, the content is more private, and is Disinformation and propaganda are two very clo- mostly circulated in an interpersonal context sely related concepts, because they are both dis- (DiFonzo & Bordia, 2007; Rojecki & Meraz, 2016). seminated for political purposes (Lewandowsky, In terms of function, instead of sense making, Stritzke, & Freund, 2013). In terms of content, gossip is propagated for social purposes. As sum- disinformation is deliberately deceptive infor- marised by Foster (2004), gossip functions to mation that is used to undermine public support achieve the formation, adaptation, and mainte- of a regime, whereas propaganda is information nance of social networks. This is to say, individu- used to mobilise public support for a political

2 | 4 cause or a regime (Rojecki & Meraz, 2016). The 1994; Keeley, 1999). One distinctive feature of word disinformation originated from ‘dezin- conspiracy theories is its reference to a coor- formacija’, a Russian term coined in the former dinated group of deliberate actors. For instan- Soviet Union (Karlova & Fisher, 2013). Given the ce, in anti-vaccination conspiracy theories, ‘big particular cultural and political context in the re- pharma’ companies are accused of conspiring gion at that time, this term was originally closely with politicians; likewise, flat earthers implicate associated with intelligence operations and poli- NASA in the plot to keep the truth about the “true tical tactics. However, the definition of disinfor- nature” of the Earth from the public. Similar to mation has, over time, expanded to include the rumour mongering, the context in which conspi- propagation of misinformation that is non-poli- racy theories emerge is often one of uncertainty tically motivated. and perceived risks, and conspiracy theorising Urban legends are contemporary tales that are represents a form of ‘alternative’ collective sen- shared to promote moral and cultural values semaking to challenge established narratives (DiFonzo & Bordia, 2007). Construed in this way, provided by the mainstream media and insti- urban legends are similar to propaganda in the tutions. Therefore, conspiracy theorising is not sense that they encode and transmit values, but merely sensemaking, but also has anti-establish- they are used mythologically rather than strate- ment and anti-science undercurrents. There- gically. Furthermore, where propaganda emp- fore, in terms of function, conspiracy theories hasises political and ideological values, urban serve as (1) a threat management response to ‘se- legends focus on cultural and moral values. One cret coalitions’ that are perceived to pose direct key criterion for an urban legend is that it must threats to the collective well-being, health, and be grounded in the day-to-day affairs of contem- safety of the society (van Prooijen et al., 2018); porary life, hence the ‘urban’ in urban legend and (2) a political and ideological stance (Hof- (Bennett & Smith, 2013). A classic example of stadter, 2012). an urban legend is the claim that a tooth left in a glass of Coca Cola can dissolve overnight. This REFERENCES story promotes health messages to avoid exces- Bennett, G., & Smith, P. (2013). Contempora- sive consumption of soda drinks. Another case ry legend: A reader. London: Routledge. is the tale of a drugged traveller awakening in Coady, D. (2003). Conspiracy theories and an ice-filled bathtub, only to discover one of his official stories. International Journal of kidneys has been removed by organ thieves. This Applied Philosophy, 17(2), 197–209. tale echoes a classic form of legend that teaches DiFonzo, N., & Bordia, P. (2007). Rumor, gossip the moral lesson to avoid dangerous situations. and urban legends. Diogenes, 54(1), 19-35. Rumour, in terms of content, is unofficial infor- Fine, G. A. (2007). Rumor, trust and civil so- mation – that is, information whose authenticity ciety: Collective memory and cultures is not verified by an appeal to authority. By this of judgment. Diogenes, 54(1), 5-18. definition, the defining characteristic of rumour Foster, E. K. (2004). Research on gossip: Ta- content is not its falsity, but its ‘unofficial’ status xonomy, methods, and future directions. and therefore its relationship to social instituti- Review of General Psychology, 8(2), 78-99. ons (Fine, 2007). Second, rumour arises in con- Goertzel, T. (1994). Belief in conspiracy theo- texts that are ambiguous, threatening or potenti- ries. Political Psychology, 15, 731–742. ally threatening (DiFonzo & Bordia, 2007, p. 20). Hofstadter, R. (2012). The paranoid style in In such uncertain contexts, rumour functions to American politics. New York: Vintage. make sense of the unknown situation. This may Karlova, N. A., & Fisher, K. E. (2013). A so- explain why rumour goes hand in hand with cri- cial diffusion model of misinformation sis events, during which there is often a paucity and disinformation for understanding of information and a state of anxiety among the human information behaviour. Infor- populace. mation Research, 18(1), paper 573. Conspiracy theories’ content is proposed explana- Keeley, B. L. (1999). Of conspiracy theories. tions of an event or a practice that refer to the The Journal of Philosophy, 96(3), 109–126. machinations of powerful people, institutions, Lewandowsky, S., Stritzke, W. G. K., Freund, or a secret society (e.g. Coady, 2003; Goertzel, A. M, Oberauer, K., and Krueger, J. I.

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(2013). Misinformation, disinformation, and violent conflict: From Iraq and the ‘War on Terror’ to future threats to peace. American Psychologist, 68(7), 487-501. Losee, R. M. (1997). A discipline indepen- dent definition of information. Jour- nal of the American Society for In- formation Science, 48(3), 254-269 Rojecki, A., & Meraz, S. (2016). Rumors and factitious informational blends: The role of the web in speculative politics. New Media & Society, 18(1), 25-43. Rysman, A. (1977). How the ‘gossip’ be- came a woman. Journal of Com- munication, 27(1), 176-180. van Prooijen, J. W., & Van Vugt, M. (2018). Conspiracy theories: Evolved functions and psychological mechanisms. Perspectives on psychological science, 13(6), 770-788. Zeng, J. (2018). Contesting rumours on social media during acute events: The 2014 Sydney siege and 2015 Tianjin blasts (Doctoral dissertation, Queensland Uni- versity of Technology). Available at https://eprints.qut.edu.au/115786/.

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