Think misinformation isn’t your problem? It already is.
We’re immersed in the Information Age, where truth should be our guidepost. Instead, it’s collateral damage. Misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation—MDM—aren’t just floating around the edges of our society. They’re baked into our feeds, our platforms, our conversations. And they’re winning.
A 2023 global survey by Ipsos found that 85% of people are concerned about encountering false or misleading information online. Pew Research reports that 23% of U.S. adults admit to sharing fake news, knowingly or not. And according to the R Street Institute, the barrier to entry for creating and spreading misinformation is nearly zero. No credentials. No ethics. Just upload and click.
Active Measures Everywhere
And that’s exactly how the system is designed to function. It’s pushback from the days of gatekeeper-controlled news, where the complaint was that only a few were heard.
How is this better?
Russia has long known how to weaponize this chaos. Its Cold War-era strategy of “active measures” was built to use information as a destabilizing force. One of the most infamous examples: Operation INFEKTION, a 1980s Soviet campaign that planted the lie that the U.S. government had created AIDS. It was picked up by small outlets, spread through global press channels, and planted doubt that lingered for years.
Fast-forward to 2016: Russia’s Internet Research Agency launched a multi-front campaign, creating fake American social media accounts on all sides of every issue—race, religion, immigration, gun rights. It wasn’t about electing a candidate. It was about destroying public confidence in truth itself.
It worked.
Today, these tactics are not only available to anyone, they’ve been studied to capitalize on the process. Bad actors, rogue influencers, bots, opportunists. Right now, your feed is flooded with lies dressed up as lifestyle tips, headlines without sources, AI-generated videos, and rage-bait disguised as commentary.
Polarization Is So Yesterday
But here’s the thing: people now think this is normal.
The problem now isn’t just that we don’t agree anymore — polarization is so yesterday. Now, the problem is that we don’t believe anything is true.
I know journalism professors who are giving up on teaching how to find the truth, because they no longer know what it is.
According to the 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer, distrust is now in default mode across most of the world.
At Davos 2025, global business leaders and economists identified disinformation and misinformation as the most urgent short-term threat to the global economy. It’s disrupting markets, eroding consumer confidence, and making it harder for companies to function in an environment where truth has no clear owner.
This isn’t theoretical. Online and in reality, this issue is impacting you, your business, and your community. Brands are being attacked by bots. AI-generated fakes are upending elections. Public health efforts are unraveling because “research” can be invented overnight. Education is portrayed as the enemy. Independent thought is marginalized.
What Is Truth?
And yet, people think manipulation is something that happens to other people.
But if we don’t prioritize media literacy and providing people with the tools they need to master the media landscape, we’re not just enabling disinformation—we’re normalizing it. The damage won’t just be societal. It will be systemic.
Who and what do you trust, and why? Trust is no longer associated with leadership. In fact, quite the opposite. One of the great challenges to modern-day journalism is this: When leaders spout lies and propaganda, should it be reported? On one hand, it is a factual representation of the person and the times we are living in. On the other hand, providing a platform only spreads misinformation further and faster, leading to more confusion among the public.
Once truth becomes optional, everything else becomes negotiable.
We say we’re living in the Information Age. Let’s be honest: We’re living in the Disinformation Age.
That’s the most truthful thing I know.
– Jaci Clement, CEO/Executive Director, Fair Media Council, jaci@fairmediacouncil.org