Disinformation Campaigns

Rhetorician and theorist Kenneth Burke stated that language “selects, reflects, and deflects reality.” It may be argued that humans’ ability to rhetorically construct “reality” reached its apex in the development of a type of information manipulation called disinformation. Disinformation is the deliberate framing of data in such a way that a false view of reality is produced in the minds of receivers. In Burke’s terms, this can be done by selecting or framing particular data elements and evading others, precluding more valid or relevant information from being brought into the frame. It can be done by reflecting elements of receivers’ viewpoints, biases, or core values, such as stereotyping, scapegoating processes, and negative interpretations, to exploit them. Finally, it can be done by deflecting reality through ...