Editing Disinformation (section)

== Strategies for spreading disinformation ==

=== Disinformation attack ===
{{main|Disinformation attack}}

The research literature on how disinformation spreads is growing.<ref name=":1" /> Studies show that disinformation spread in social media can be classified into two broad stages: seeding and echoing.<ref name="DiazRuizNilsson2022" /> "Seeding," when malicious actors strategically insert deceptions, like fake news, into a social media ecosystem, and "echoing" is when the audience disseminates disinformation argumentatively as their own opinions often by incorporating disinformation into a confrontational fantasy.

=== Internet manipulation ===
{{excerpt|Internet manipulation}}

Studies show four main methods of seeding disinformation online:<ref name=":1" />

# Selective censorship
# Manipulation of search rankings
# Hacking and releasing
# Directly Sharing Disinformation

=== Exploiting online advertising technologies ===
Disinformation is amplified online due to malpractice concerning [[online advertising]], especially the [[Machine to machine|machine-to-machine]] interactions of [[real-time bidding]] systems.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Braun |first1=Joshua A. |last2=Eklund |first2=Jessica L. |date=2019-01-02 |title=Fake News, Real Money: Ad Tech Platforms, Profit-Driven Hoaxes, and the Business of Journalism |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21670811.2018.1556314 |journal=Digital Journalism |language=en |volume=7 |issue=1 |pages=1–21 |doi=10.1080/21670811.2018.1556314 |issn=2167-0811}}</ref> Online advertising technologies have been used to amplify disinformation due to the financial incentives and [[monetization]] of  [[user-generated content]] and [[fake news]].<ref name=":7">{{Cite journal |last=Diaz Ruiz |first=Carlos A. |date=2024-10-30 |title=Disinformation and fake news as externalities of digital advertising: a close reading of sociotechnical imaginaries in programmatic advertising |journal=Journal of Marketing Management |language=en |pages=1–23 |doi=10.1080/0267257X.2024.2421860 |issn=0267-257X|doi-access=free }}</ref> The lax oversight over the online advertising market can be used to amplify disinformation, including the use of [[dark money]] used for [[Social media use in politics|political advertising]].<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Nadler |first1=Anthony |last2=Donovan |first2=Joan |last3=Crane |first3=Matthew |date=2018-10-17 |title=Weaponizing the Digital Influence Machine |url=https://datasociety.net/library/weaponizing-the-digital-influence-machine/ |access-date=2024-11-21 |website=Data & Society |language=en-US}}</ref>