Forms of disinformation
clickbait
Sources that provide generally credible or dubious factual content but deliberately use exaggerated, misleading or unverified headlines/thumbnails to lure readers to open the intended Web page. The goal is to increase their traffic for profit, popularity, or sensationalization. Once the reader got there, the content rarely satisfies their interests.
Example: Clickbait example bbcmanipulated content
Manipulating information or image to deceive the recipient. The recipient receives information prepared in such a way that he is not aware of its misuse.
Example: Debunking manipulated contentfabricated content
Stories that lack any factual ground, 100 % false. The intention is to deceive and cause harm. One of the most severe types of fabrication adopts the style of news articles so the recipients believe it is legitimate. Could be text or visual media.
Example: Debunking fabricated contentfalse context
It consists of real information but in a false context. The recipient is aware that the information is true, but he does not realize that the context has been changed.
Example 1: Debunking false context, missattributed quote Example 2: Debunking false context, missattributed pictureimposter content
Genuine sources that are impersonated with false, made-up sources to support basically a false narrative. It is actually very misleading since a source or author is considered a great criteria of verifying credibility. (use of journalists name/ logo /branding of mimic URLs)
Example 1: Imposter "spiegel" article Example 2: Imposter BBC Newssocial bot content
A social bot is a computer algorithm that automatically produces and posts content and is able to interact with legitimate users and other bots, trying to emulate and possibly alter their behavior.
Example: Article about social botsconspiracy theory
Stories without factual basis which usually explain important events as secret plots by government or powerful individuals. By definition their truthfulness is difficult to verify. Evidences refuting the conspiracy are regarded as further proof of the conspiracy.
Example: article about the illiuminati conspiracyone-sided
Stories that are extremely biased toward a person/party/situation/event driving division and polarization. The context of this type of news information is extremely imbalanced (i.e. le or right wing), inflammatory, emotional and often riddled with untruths. They contain either a mixture of true and false or mostly false, thus misleading information designed to confirm a particular ideological view.
Example: debunking a misrepresented articlefact-checking
Many of the examples linked above were created by fact checkers. The job of fact-checkers is to uncover false information and correct it with facts.
Snopes factcheck Politifact Reuters apnews bbc-reality-check fullfact correctiv