Unchecked: The architecture of disinformation
Misinformation and disinformation thrive in today’s technology landscape, and arguably present the greatest threat to modern society. Information architecture – the practice of designing and managing digital spaces – has an opportunity to intervene. This podcast looks at disinformation from an information architecture perspective, and considers ways to expand the practice of IA to address this new reality.
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What is Information Architecture?
Information architecture is the practice of designing virtual structures – the shape and form of online spaces and digital products. When you click on a navigation menu or follow the steps in a process, you're experiencing the information architecture of a web site or digital product.
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What is disinformation?
Understanding disinformation is the purpose of this podcast. We are trying to figure out exactly what it is and what it means. If information architecture is the practice of designing virtual spaces, then disinformation is something that can occupy that space to disrupt the user's experience. Alternatively, it is a way of manipulating the space (like flooding it with irrelevant facts) to achieve an end unrelated to the space's original intention.
Unchecked: The architecture of disinformation
Episode 6: Disinformation and its consequences, with Prof. Claire Wardle
SYNOPSIS
Dr. Claire Wardle is a disinformation expert and communications professor at Cornell University. She joins Rachel and Dan to talk about the history of disinformation study, how new technology introduces new challenges, and about how the information ecosystem might change in the future. She offers insights into the psychology of disinformation. From the conversation, Rachel elaborates on the lens of Friction, and Dan talks about a lens he can only call “Middle of the night.”
STORIES OF DISINFORMATION
The Propaganda of Hearst and Pulitzer
- The Spanish American War and the Yellow Press (Library of Congress)
- The Gilded Age (Wikipedia)
Bedlam and Squalor and Worse, Oh My
- Transcript of August 11 press conference (Roll Call)
- Trump exaggerates DC crime while ordering police take-over and National Guard deployment (Politifact)
- Trump’s DOJ claims credit for falling crime rate in DC (Justice.gov)
INTERVIEW
- Dr. Claire Wardle
- Australian drama series about the wellness industry: Apple Cider Vinegar
- Jim Acosta “interviews” LLM based on Parkland shooting victim
- Dr. Noc, social media science influencer, who may not be scruffy enough to be believed
LENSES
Friction
For designers, "friction" represents how much the experience intrudes on consuming information or completing tasks. Experiences increase the intrusion to discourage destructive actions (like deleting important information). Additionally, it is often said that lies are “low friction” and truth is “high friction”. That is, understanding and internalizing a lie is less cognitive demanding than doing so with the truth.
- How does the system use friction to engage users’ critical thinking skills?
- How does the system reduce the friction on high quality information?
- How does the system titrate the amount of friction in the experience relative to the quality of information?
Middle of the night
Users are most susceptible to disinformation when they are at their most vulnerable, like in the middle of the night with a health scare.
- How does the system support users who are agitated and vulnerable?
- How does the format of the information take into account a user who is agitated or vulnerable?
- How would the system fare if it catered to someone using it in an extrem
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Personnel
- Dan Brown, Host
- Rachel Price, Host
- Emily Duncan, Editor
Music
- Turtle Up Fool, by Elliot
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Unchecked is a production of Curious Squid
Curious Squid is a digital design consulting firm specializing in information architecture, user experience, and product design
