Glossary

where an argument is stated to apply to everything in a way that ignores exceptions and outliers

signals or cues in an environment that communicate how to interact with features or things in that environment

A fallacy in which a person attempts to create support for an idea by attempting to increase fear towards an alternative.

taking lack of evidence, or lack of understanding of evidence, to be evidence.

to use something for a different cultural purpose than originally intended

an argument that claims something is untrue because it's difficult to believe.

an argument based on that one's silence is incorrectly concluded to be agreement.

when correction of misinformation paradoxically increases the belief in said misinformation

The human tendency to want to continue believing what you already believe.

the act of forcing someone to change their beliefs

Information spread without concern for whether or not it's true

the way the human brain interprets knowledge through its own experiences and beliefs.

the uncomfortable feeling that arises when something you already think clashes with something new you learn.

the tendency of the human brain, when consuming information, to selectively embrace the pieces that confirm existing beliefs, while ignoring the pieces that don't

A popular term used to describe people who engage in conspiracy theories.

a cognitive bias that describes the tendency for better-informed people to find it difficult or impossible to think about a situation from the perspective of someone else, particularly someone less informed on truthful information

Fake videos created online where a video of one person is taken and transposed with the face, voice, body (or combination of these) onto a video of someone else. The original video is digitally altered with the intent to portray someone as saying or doing something that they haven’t done. (From Verishagen & Zerr, 2022)

the act of defining a term so it agrees with one's argument

a language power technique involving the renaming of a concept that obscures its original negative meaning, allows for ambiguous interpretation, and may shift responsibility as to its cause (From Reinhardt et al, 2023)

the substitution of a disagreeable, offensive, or disparaging expression for an agreeable or inoffensive one, e.g. 'kick the bucket' for 'die' (From Reinhardt et al, 2023)

an echo chamber is a situation in which beliefs are amplified or reinforced by communication and repetition inside a closed system and are insulated from rebuttal

an agreeable or inoffensive expression substituted for one that may offend or suggest something unpleasant, e.g. 'pass away' for 'die' (From Reinhardt et al, 2023)

an argument technique where one references fake or incorrect research in order to appear more knowledgeable.

a fallacy wherein one "jumps to conclusions" by making broad claims based on an extremely small body of evidence

to read and analyze line by line

a language power technique or figure of speech that exaggerates the facts of an event, idea, or person to garner an emotional response like fear, shock, concern, or amusement from the audience (From Reinhardt et al, 2023)

a psychological phenomena where a person perceives something as being related even when it isn't

a psychological phenomenon which postulates that the more a person sees something, even something they already know to be untrue, the more likely they are to believe it (From Verishagen & Zerr, 2022)

when an argument is not presented in a way where the points follow each other logically

that which is both known to be true and able to be transferred

the specialized words and linguistic registers associated with an activity or group of experts that is difficult to understand for outsiders (From Reinhardt et al, 2023)

the negotiation of multiple truths as a way of understanding or “knowing” something

disbelieving information because it comes from an authority, before one has rationally reviewed the information

fears spread among many people about a perceived threat to society at large

the pejorative or derogatory use of an epithet, that is, a descriptive name, to address or refer to someone (From Reinhardt et al, 2023)

a story; a sequence of connected events and associated meanings

the idea that something is better because it's natural

occurs in journalism when news and media outlets report on sensational or captivating stories more than stories that accurately represent happenings in a location or amongst a population (From Verishagen & Zerr, 2022)

false or misleading content, intentionally seeded and/or spread, for a specific purpose—often for political gain (From Starbird et al 2023, https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/20563051231177943)

a term for information that has been manipulated or created (usually by political organizations) with the intention to sway social or political opinions or conversations (From Verishagen & Zerr, 2022)

the act of moving toward the adoption of increasingly extreme ideas

something that diverts attention away from the real issue at hand, by focusing instead on a separate issue that has only a surface relevance to the original

content that uses embellished or fictional information with the intention to comment on the topic of that content in a humorous way; not intended to deceive

to discredit a proposition by arguing that its acceptance will undoubtedly lead to a sequence of events, one or more of which are undesirable (From Almossawi 2014, p. 38)

a false online persona created to deceive (From Verishagen & Zerr, 2022)

the linguistic means by which humans share ideas, humor, beliefs, and histories, and relate to one another, these generally consist of the narration of experienced events presented chronologically.

Refuting an argument different from the one actually under discussion, without acknowledging the difference. Typically, a straw man argument involves creating a distorted and inaccurate version of a position, then attacking that distorted version as though you are attacking the real one.

a phenomena wherein someone acts in a way that they think someone else wants them to act

the fallacy of believing that technologies are fully responsible for grand shifts in our world, instead of acknowledging the more complicated interplay of forces (human and otherwise) behind the phenomenon in question

an idealized or perfect imaginary view of society

language that allows the speaker or writer to be vague, to generalize, and to hide or mask authority on purpose (From Reinhardt et al, 2023)

prebunking material that requires the audience the specifically engage with the information and techniques presented (most commonly as a game)

a power technique where, instead of responding to the logic of the argument itself, a speaker attacks the person making the argument, focusing on personal qualities that have nothing to do with the argument (From Reinhardt et al, 2023)

information collected only through individual experience, and often retained and shared only through word-of-mouth

the narration of memorable experiences to justify a belief in lieu of scientific evidence; similar to storytelling but often shorter

Fact-checking that happens before information is published, with the goal of either correcting or rejecting the information.

utilizing the assertion that powerful people would agree in order to give credulity to an argument

a fallacious argument that concludes a belief to be either true or false based on whether the premise leads to desirable or undesirable consequences

an informal fallacy characterized by the manipulation of the recipient's emotions in order to win an argument, especially in the absence of factual evidence

the use of bots to make a campaign or movement seem organic when it's not; the name is a play on the term "grassroots," wherein a movement gains traction through natural means of human involvement

a misinformation strategy that emphasizes tactics that elicit fear and anxiety

methods in which social media bots influence and/or engage with humans online

moderation done with automated tools (e.g. filters, Ai) as opposed to physical moderators

a disinformation strategy that emphasizes tactics that villainize the motivations and proponents of an idea

software applications or scripts that automatically perform defined tasks

a network of connected bots, often on computers hijacked through malware

Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart. These usually take the form of relatively simple puzzles that some bots may struggle to solve.

a common disinformation tactic of selecting only the data or facts that support the desired belief, and ignoring other data or facts that might contradict that belief

arguments that come back to their beginning without having actually proven anything

the tendency to exaggerate the positive image and importance of a group to which one belongs

rules that guide content moderation and govern what is acceptable to post on a specific social media platform

argument or assertion based on incomplete information, delivered in the guise of "just asking questions"

an explanation for an event or situation that asserts the existence of a secret plan by powerful and sinister groups

a moderation action where content isn't removed, but instead a label is added to the content to either recommend caution to users or to add relevant contextual information

the process of monitoring, evaluating, and possibly taking action against content that violates the stated goals or policies of an organization or platform

the capacity to challenge views, assess arguments, and evaluate the credibility of the information they come across

identifying, analyzing, and disproving misinformation (after that misinformation has been published)

the length of time between the initial inoculation and the next "attack" on that belief [Inoculation Theory]

information intended to deceive those who receive it

words or terms that mean one thing yet also covertly signal meaning only to receptive audiences

the use of language calculated to create a strong emotional reaction in the listener

an application of the technique of verification, used to determine if a statement is factual; can also be viewed as an ideological pillar within a discipline

a fallacious way of presenting choices that implies there are two, and only two, opposing options; also called false dilemma or either/or (From Reinhardt et al, 2023)

when a piece of propaganda (usually video) portrays itself as objective documentation

equating two subjects or giving them equal treatment based on faulty reasoning.

the practice of using bots to create artificial engagement (usually through actions such as "liking" a post)

a tactic that involves cultivating fear of something that there is no actual reason to feel threatened by

the psychological phenomenon that occurs when a group collectively has such a strong desire to maintain conformity that their decision-making becomes irrational and dysfunctional

misinformation that contains a truthful component of an issue or argument out of context, to support false assertions or information

the practice of bots using a popular hashtag to spread information unrelated to the original intent of that hashtag

a conspiracy trope presenting believers as vilified protectors of vulnerable, socially valued entities (such as children)

a type of content label that combines aspects of recommendation labels and information labels (e.g. a recommendation is given that includes a link to related external information sources)

a type of content label that provides clear and specific information to fill in gaps in/provide context for the labeled content

the ability to find, engage with, evaluate, appreciate, and communicate information

bots that are designed to do relatively benign tasks (like automatically reply or send out emails, operate simple feeds, etc)

a social psychological theory that explains how an idea or belief can be protected against persuasive influence (in ways analogous to biological inoculation against germs)

how important a belief or subject is to someone [Inoculation Theory]

an argument or appeal based on trust of someone in a domain other than the domain relevant in a given situation; or an appeal to vague authority or ancient wisdom (Al Mossawi, 2013, p. 14)

verifying what you're reading as you're reading it, using sources outside the original content

a misinformation technique emphasizing anecdotal evidence and detachment from any claims of authority

bots specifically designed to spread misinformation and manipulate online discourse

inaccurate information with the intent to not only deceive the audience, but to cause harm to a specific person or group of people

content moderation where moderators actively search through published content looking for violations of their rules

content moderation that happens before content is published

the awareness of one's own thought processes

inaccurate information that is spread without the intention to deceive

a broad and inaccurate belief about a particular topic

a specific tactic used to spread misinformation, often independent of a specific topic

when a quote has its content changed, is taken out of context, or is falsely attributed

the trend in popular misinformative media to reject peer-review processes, and to instead use the trust of a popular host or other non-scientist as a believer proxy in the evaluation of scientific claims

when a complex issue or cause is reduced to a simplistic phrase or meaning, often consciously and with the intent to make it easy to disseminate

prebunking material that requires the audience to absorb information without directly engaging with the ideas (examples: videos, ads, lectures)

the psychological phenomena where visual information is more easily remembered than read or heard information

a power or propaganda technique used to convince audiences that the speaker/subject is common or average, e.g., if a politician advertises themselves eating street food at a fair or taking public transportation

fact-checking that happens after a piece of information has been published; the type of fact-checking primarily practiced by external organizations

the practice of identifying sources and methods of misinformation before they become an issue

content moderation that happens after content is published, usually by allowing users a way to "flag" content they feel may be in violation of the rules, that will then be reviewed by a moderator

a type of content label that assert claims to the user about if and/how the labeled content should be absorbed

a message that refutes something related-but-different to the predicted counterargument

a message providing some type of refutation to the counterarguments it presents as a threat [Inoculation Theory]

a message that directly refutes a predicted counterargument

the practice of bots immediately (and in great volume) reposting content from a parent bot

blaming a person or group that cannot defend themself for a problem they did not actually cause (From Reinhardt et al, 2023)

a practice where bots will go dormant for an extended period of time before suddenly becoming intensely active

the human tendency to attribute a single or a few traits to an entire group of people; can be dangerously dehumanizing because it overlooks diversity and individual complexity

a plan involving multiple interconnected steps to accomplish a goal

the practice of bots targeting a specific account with spam content, usually with the goal of shutting them down

a step involving concrete action within a broader strategy or plan

a message's ability to make a recipient aware their position or belief is vulnerable [Inoculation Theory]

the state of being organized into groups defined by common identities and loyalty to the tribe over all else (From Reinhardt et al, 2023)

a masculinity-focused disinformation trope involving rejection of consensus-based scientific processes coded as feminine, in favor the masculine ideal of truth achieved through sport-like public display

a misinformation strategy which artificially creates two opposing sides of a situation in order to utilize in-group favoritism and out-group discrimination

a decision on whether something is good or bad based on personal feelings

the act of establishing or testing the truth or correctness of a fact, theory, statement, etc., by means of special investigation or comparison of data

anything that aids in the process of information verification

attempting to verify what you're reading while only staying within the source of the information