Whitepaper

Misinformation and Disinformation: Brands in the Echo ChamberAugust 2018

Brands in the Echo Chamber Storyful 2

Introduction: The False Information Ecosystem 3

Chapter 1: Sharing, Not Caring 4

“Fake News” Websites 5

User-Generated Conspiracies 7

The Echo Chamber 7

The Clickbait Headline 9

TheInfluencer 9

Chapter 2: The Threat of Disinformation Ops 10

Fringe Networks 11

BotsandSockpuppets 11

SyntheticAudiovisuals 12

ReviewAttacks 13

Chapter 3: How Brands Can React 14

References 17

Table of Contents

Brands in the Echo Chamber Storyful3

Introduction: The False Information Ecosystem

In 2013, the World Economic Forum acknowledged the risks of a digital society,

warning that “hyperconnectivity could enable ‘digital wildfires’ to wreak havoc

in the real world.” Today, the risk of misinformation is no longer just a theory.

Misinformation is infecting geopolitics, global governance, and even the

reputations of sizeable brands.

Social media conversations are democratic in nature—They canbe regional or global, controlled oruncontrolled.Wheninfluentialvoicesconfidentlysharefalsefactsorpropaganda,inaccurateinformationcanquicklybecomecontagious—andtheproblemcompoundsexponentially.Withnoeditorialauthorityorreview,misinformationspreadsonlineatanalarmingrate.Strongpeer-to-peernetworksfuelindividualconfirmationbias,whilepolarizedechochambersfilteroutopposingviews.Theriseofalgorithmsthatautomaticallycuratepostsamplifiesvoicesevenmorerapidly.

How can a brand control its own narrative in a landscape so disintermediated? —Brandcontroversycanspringfromanycornerofafracturedonline landscape and is sometimes manufacturedmaliciously.Misinformationanddisinformationcanspurconsumerbacklash,creatingripplesthataffecteverythingfromday-to-dayoperationstolong-termreputationalhealth.

This whitepaper explores the different threats posed by misinformation and disinformation. It delineates the damaging ways in which false information is generated and spreads online—and the ways in which companies can protect themselves.

Brands in the Echo Chamber Storyful 4

False information can spread online for variousreasons. Some share it knowingly, with maliciousintent. But in many cases, information spreadsthrough users who have no clear knowledge of itsfalsehood. The primacy of social networks andour increasing dependence on digital makes usmore vulnerable to not only disinformation—falseinformationthatisdeliberatelyspreadtomislead—but also misinformation—information that isinaccurateormisleading,butspreadunintentionallyorevenbyaccident.

• “Fake News” Websites

• User-Generated Conspiracies

The Echo Chamber

The Clickbait Headline

TheInfluencer

Chapter 1: Sharing, Not Caring

Brands in the Echo Chamber Storyful 4

Brands in the Echo Chamber Storyful 5

Hundreds of websites seize the opportunity to disseminate misleading or false content through

social platforms. Reasons include:

Ideological motives

Promotingnegativesentimentaroundpublic figures, countries, state entities, or brands throughunsubstantiatedconspiratorialclaims.In2015,aviralclaimspreadonlinelinkingtheclosureofseveralWalmartstorestoagrandconspiracythatWalmartwascolludingwiththefederalgovernmenttoattacktheAmericanpeople.Theretailerwasforcedtopubliclydenytheclaims.

Financial motivation

Gaining more traffic (and ad revenue) bypromotingsensationalcontent.InthemiddleoffluseasoninJanuary2018,themisinformationwebsiteYourNewsWirepublishedanarticlewiththeheadline“CDCDoctor:‘Disastrous’FluShotIsCausingDeadlyFluOutbreak.”ThestorywaspromotedbyFacebook’salgorithmandbecameoneofthesite’stop-engagedstoriesinJanuary, andultimatelyrankedastheflustorywiththehighestoverallengagementonsocialmedia.

Commercial interests

Spreadingfalseinformationpretendingtobenewsreportswhilepromoting certain products or services.WithmorethantwomillionfollowersonFacebook,NaturalNewspublishespseudoscientificanti-vaccinationandanti-pharmaceuticalarticleswhileofferingitsownlineofnaturalhealingsupplementsinitsonlineshop.

“Fake News” Websites

Chapter 1: Sharing, Not Caring

Brands in the Echo Chamber Storyful 6

Chapter 1: Sharing, Not Caring

CDCDoctor:‘Disastrous’FluShotIsCausingDeadly

FluOutbreak806,122yournewswire.com

ThisIstheflusymptomyouaren’tlookingforbutneedto

knowabout232,916Popsugar

StillNotConvincedYouNeedaFluShot?First,It’s

NotAllAboutYou182,227NYTimes

CDCdirectorurgesfluvaccinationsaspediatricdeaths

mount109,296Reuters

Terrifyingfluseason:Whattolookoutforasgrowingnumberofyoungpeople

loselivesaftergettingsick106,155Fox8

7-year-old San Bernardinoboydiesofflu-relatedcondition

71,239ABC7

WidespreadFluHits46 States 69,010Weather.com

Flu-Related Articles Ranked by Highest Engagements on

Social Media

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User-Generated Conspiracies

Damaging false information might also begeneratedor sharedunintentionallybysocialmedia users. The nature of social media canthen give these stories traction well beyondtheiroriginallifecycle.Examplesinclude:

The Echo Chamber In November of 2016, a father uploaded avideo of his son suffering seizures allegedlycaused by the Bexsero meningitis B vaccineto “My child’s vaccine reaction,” an anti-vaccination Facebook page. “From injectionsitehewasnotthesamebaby.Within3weekshe started having siezures [sic],” wrote LukeMaguireinhispost,claimingtheboysufferedupto14seizuresperday.

The video went viral and was shared widelyacross the anti-vaxxer online community.SeveralU.K.tabloidsalsoamplifiedthevideo,distributing it with little scientific context.The post drove meningitis B-related mediacoverage in 2017, with users specificallydeflectingtheblameonBexsero.Bythetimethe video had 1.5 million views, it was re-edited and shared by U.S. alternative healthpromoterDavid“Avocado”Wolfewithhismorethan 11 million followers. Wolfe’s post wassharedmorethan400,000timesandreceivedmorethan27millionviewstodate.

Chapter 1: Sharing, Not Caring

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Chapter 1: Sharing, Not Caring

The Flow of Anti-Vax Dialogue Through the

Social Ecosystem

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The Clickbait Headline

Fordecades,newspapershavebeenaccusedof distorting scientific studies and health-related information for the sake of catchyheadlines. In the era of digital media, theproblem has become even more prevalent.Catchybutmisleadingtitlesareapopularwayto attract clicks—even if they are lacking inimportantcontext.

In December 2016, the DailyMail publishedan article titled “Furious couple claim theirson started suffering from 14 seizures a dayafterhavingameningitis jab,”mentioningtheBexsero vaccine as a possible cause to theseizures.

The parents’ claim was emphasized in theheadline and throughout the article, but anexpertcitedsaying“itwasunlikelyhisfitswerevaccine-related”appearedfurtherdown,intheseventhparagraphofinthearticle.Thearticlewaspublishedafteravideoofaseizurewentviral on Facebook and gained engagementspecificallyamonganti-vaxxercommunities.

The Influencer

Online influencers—celebrities, politicians,or other public figures—intentionally andunintentionallyacceleratethespreadoffalseinformationbypushingitoutofaclosedechochamber to their millions of followers—andintothepublicdiscussion.Forexample,actorGeorge Takei shared a link to an article titled “ZikaVirusNottoBlame?DoctorsCiteMan-MadeCauseForBirthDefectEpidemic”withhis10millionfollowers.

Despiteaqualifyingskepticalcomment,Takei’spost was shared more than 24,000 times.Many of the shares happened months afterthe claimhas alreadybeendebunkedby thescientific community. In fact, the debunkingonly seemed to flare up new accusationsagainst Monsanto, a pesticide company, forallegedlybuyingthemedia’ssilence.

Chapter 1: Sharing, Not Caring

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Information operations have been a type ofwarfare since ancient times, as adversariestried to manipulate their enemies by spreadingdisinformationtocausedeceptionorsowchaos.

Today, social media platforms are astonishinglyeffective vehicles for disinformation campaigns.A well-organized campaign can filter through topublicconsciousnessandmightsignificantlyimpactlong-term reputation. Online campaigns pushedby bots, falsified documents, sockpuppets, andtrollshavealreadytakenatollongovernmentsandcorporations.

• Fringe Networks

• Bots and Sockpuppets

• Synthetic Audiovisuals

• Review Attacks

Chapter 2: The Threat of Disinformation Operations

Brands in the Echo Chamber Storyful10

Brands in the Echo Chamber Storyful 11

Chapter 2: The Threat of Disinformation Operations

Fringe Networks

Bots and Sockpuppets

InJanuary2018,aFacebookpostaccusedStarbucksemployeesofcontaminatingdrinksorderedbywhitepeople.Theaccusationwasfirstpostedto4chanandresultedinanonlinemaelstrom.Starbucksvehementlydeniedtheallegations,butwasultimatelyforcedtobrieflycloseoneofitsstoresinAtlanta.WhilemajorsocialnetworkssuchasFacebook,TwitterorInstagramcanbeusedasconduitstomakecontentviral,fringeplatformsandonlinediscussionforumsfunctionashubstoorganizepropagandacampaigns.Byspreadingfakephotos,memes and hashtags on Reddit, TwitterandFacebook,4chanuserswereabletosowchaosforabrandinreallife.

Upto15%ofactiveTwitterusersareautomatedsocialmediaaccounts,or“bots,”accordingtoestimatesfromtheUniversityofCaliforniaandIndianaUniversity.At330millionmonthlyactiveusers,nearly50millionTwitteraccountscouldbebots.Botaccountsareautomaticallyoperatedandexisttoboostsignalsfromrealusers,creatingcontroversyoranoutpouringofsupportoutofthinair.

Sockpuppetaccountsareoperatedmanuallybyanonymoususers.Likebots,theypushfalseandmisleadinginformationinanattemptto“infect”regularusers,presentingfakeidentitiesonline,while hiding the true identity of their operators. In China, researchers at Harvard’s InstituteforQuantitative Social Science identified an army of paid posters flooding socialmedia withdistractions frommajorgovernmentalcrises—responsible forupto450millionpostsperyear.Theseusersareknowncolloquiallyasthe“50CentArmy,”forhowmuchtheymakeperpost.

“Anyone drink Starbucks in Atlanta, I hope not. Messaged this into the Starbucks facebook, if they dont get back about it I say we post it everywhere, and spam comment it on their Twitter, and Facebook posts.” (4chan.org, 7 January 2018)14

Brands in the Echo Chamber Storyful 12

Synthetic Audiovisuals

In 2017, researchers at the University ofWashington successfully created a fake yethighlyrealisticvideoofformerU.S.PresidentBarackObama—fromaudiofilesalone. Recent advancements in artificial intelligence haveenabledthecreationofhigh-qualitysyntheticaudioandvideo,whichcanbeusedtogeneratefake videos to smear brands, politicians, orpublicfigures.

Image via University of Washington researcher Supasorn Suwajanakorn on YouTube.

Could synthetic audiovisuals be used toattack a brand? Though the technology isstill emerging, it has already been used toreal-word effect (most notably in the worldof “deep fakes” or celebrity face-swap pornvideos),alarmingustothetechnology’sabilitytofoolviewers.

Chapter 2: The Threat of Disinformation Operations

Brands in the Echo Chamber Storyful13

Review Attacks

In September 2017, Amazon redactedhundredsofmostlyone-starreviewsofHillaryClinton’sbook,“WhatHappened?”

The reviews, submittedhoursafter thebookwas released, were triggered by a call to action onpro-TrumpsocialmediachannelsonReddit,Discord and 4chan. Months earlier, a similareffort on the same channels yielded similarresults after the release of Megyn Kelly’sbook,“SettleforMore.” SimilardisinformationcampaignscouldeasilybeconductedonYelp,

Drugs.com,TripAdvisor,orRottenTomatoes.

Not all review campaigns count on thehelp of the crowd. Online vendors suchas Reviewsthatstick.com, Shorttask.comor Rapidworkers.com allow companies topurchase reviews, which could be used for atargetednegativecampaignagainstproductsandservices.

Chapter 2: The Threat of Disinformation Operations

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Chapter 3: How Brands Can React

Forbrands,organizations,andevencontentcreators,itiscrucialtoidentifythespreadoffalseinformationat an early stage. By the time mainstream newsoutletsreportoninformationoperationsorthestorytrends across socialmedia, significant damage haslikely already been done. Brands across industriescantakethefollowingstepstominimizetheimpactofnegativecampaigns:

• Monitor brand mentions on fringe platforms

• Investigate the source

• Prepare a crisis communications plan

Brands in the Echo Chamber Storyful 14

Brands in the Echo Chamber Storyful 15

Chapter 3: How Brands Can React

Think like a reporter

Investigate the sources of false information. Whoexactlyisbehindeachcampaign?Whatinfluencersareperpetuatingtheseideas?Accuratethreatidentificationwillenableabrandtotargetitscrisiscommunicationsanddefenditsreputationmoreeffectively.

Prevention is better than cure

Make sure a crisis communications plan is in placeandcanbeactivatedswiftlywhenharmfulinformationisdiscovered.Ignoringfalseinformationatanearlystagewon’tmakeitdisappear.

Monitor brand mentions on social platforms—including the fringe.Monitoring4chan,Gab,andotherplatformsiscrucialtodetectingthreats at an early stage and reacting accordingly,beforethethreatsbreakintomainstreamconversation.

Monitoring Twitter and Facebookis not enough

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Brands in the Echo Chamber Storyful 16

References

1. Howell,Lee,etal.GlobalRisks2013.WorldEconomicForum,2013.http://reports.weforum.org/global-risks-2013/risk-case-1/digital-wildfires-in-a-hyperconnected-world/

2. Medrano,Kastalia.“FacebookSpreadsViralFakeNewsStoryAboutVaccines.”Newsweek,25January2018.http://www.newsweek.com/facebook-spreads-viral-fake-news-story-about-vaccines-791331

3. Pomeroy, Ross. “TheWorstWebsites for Science in 2016.” Real Clear Science, 26 November 2016.Accessed20March2018.

4. Peterson, Hayley. “The 5 stores that Walmart mysteriously closed are finally reopening.” BusinessInsider,2Septemberl2015.http://www.businessinsider.com/wal-mart-reopens-5-stores-it-suddenly-closed-2015-9

5. Maguire, Luke. Vaccine reaction seizures video. Facebook, 14November 2016. Accessed 13March2018.https://www.facebook.com/luke.maguire.560/videos/662697120568272/

6. 10-month-oldbabyconvulsesfromseizures ‘duetomeningitis jab.’”DailyMail. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/video/femail/video-1375019/10-month-old-baby-convulses-seizures-mengitis-jab.html

7. Wolfe, David. “Baby Boy Suffers From Seizures After Getting Vaccines.” Facebook, 13March 2017.https://www.facebook.com/DavidAvocadoWolfe/videos/10154311097431512/

8. Cha,Ariana Eunjung and LenaH. Sun. “U.S., Brazilian officials say no scientific basis for theory thatchemicals—ratherthanZikavirus—istoblameforbirthdefects.”WashingtonPost,17February2016.https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2016/02/17/could-chemicals-rather-than-the-zika-virus-be-to-blame-for-birth-defects-in-brazil/?utm_term=.70bb857e235e

9. Varol,Onur,etal.OnlineHuman-BotInteractions:Detection,Estimation,andCharacterization.CenterforComplexNetworksandSystemsResearch, IndianaUniversityand InformationSciences Institute,UniversityofSouthernCalifornia,March2017.https://arxiv.org/pdf/1703.03107.pdf

10. @TwitterIR.Q4 andFiscal Year 2017Letter toShareholders. Twitter, 8 February 2018. http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/AMDA-2F526X/6109081207x0x970892/F9B4F616-659A-454B-89C6-28480DA53CCA/Q4_2017_Shareholder_Letter.pdf

11. Gibson,Lydialyle. “China’sSocial-MediaSmokeScreen.”HarvardMagazine,May-June2017.https://harvardmagazine.com/2017/05/chinas-social-media-smoke-screen

12. Langston,Jennifer.“Lip-syncingObama:Newtoolsturnaudioclipsintorealisticvideo.”UWNews,11July 2017. http://www.washington.edu/news/2017/07/11/lip-syncing-obama-new-tools-turn-audio-clips-into-realistic-video/

13. Evon,Dan.“WereBlood,DogFecesandOtherHorrorsHiddenInsideStarbucksProducts?”Snopes,10January2018.

14. Anonymous.“AnyonedrinkStarbucksinAtlanta,Ihopenot.”4chan(/pol/),07January2018.Accessed13Match2018.http://archive.4plebs.org/pol/thread/155891152/

15. Ha, Thu-Huong. “Amazon just deleted over 900 reviews of Hillary Clinton’s new book.” Quartz, 13September 2017. https://qz.com/1076357/hillary-clintons-what-happened-amazon-just-deleted-over-900-reviews-of-hillary-clintons-new-book/

16. Ryn, Erin Gloria. “Amazon Battles Trolls Over Megyn Kelly Book.” Daily Beast, 16 November 2016.https://www.thedailybeast.com/amazon-battles-trolls-over-megyn-kelly-boo