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Misinformation and Disinformation

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Facebook Nation

Abstract

Information is power. Disinformation is abuse of power. Los Angeles Times playfully called the 2006 ‘‘lonelygirl15’’ YouTube mystery the ‘‘Web’s Watergate’’. The real Watergate scandal culminated in the resignation of President Richard Nixon in August 1974. Watergate has had a profound influence on American journalism and politics. In the new era of digital information with the proliferation of Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, inquisitive citizens and accidental journalists will radically transform the landscape of journalism and politics in the years to come.

Information is power. Disinformation is abuse of power.

—Newton Lee (2012)

There’s an old economic principle, that bad money drives out good. One thing that worries me is that bad information is driving out good.

—Professor Frank Farley (2012)

The loudest voices should be particularly careful not to rush to conclusions.

—Former U.S. Secretary of Education William J. Bennett

(March 2012)

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  1. Newton Lee Laboratories, LLC, Tujunga, California, 91043, USA

    Newton Lee

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Lee, N. (2013). Misinformation and Disinformation. In: Facebook Nation. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5308-6_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5308-6_9

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  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-5307-9

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