Unpacking the Risk of Misinformation: A Communication-Based Critique

A raft of authors argue that society is drowning in a sea of misinformation, disinformation, and fake news. Some claim we are living in a new world disorder, misinformation age, or post-truth era, fueled in part by social media, influential podcasters, and emerging AI systems. We argue that the now dominant interpretation of the risk of misinformation has been undergirded by an oversimplified understanding of broader communication processes. Thinking of misinformation as a standalone risk object has distorted conceptions of messages, messengers, and audiences, as well as how the underlying problems associated with false and misleading information could and should be addressed. Our article unpacks and then constructively critiques the dominant interpretation of misinformation by examining the tendency to (i) define misinformation in isolation from communication, (ii) neglect messengers' intentions, (iii) perceive audiences as susceptible misinformation recipients, and (iv) reduce communication to a one-way process of misinforming. We conclude by arguing that a communication-based approach, grounded in the agency of messengers and audiences, offers a more nuanced and holistic foundation for interpreting and addressing the complex challenges associated with false and misleading messages. This perspective encourages policymakers and researchers to approach communication in its full complexity, engage in multiway processes, draw on the existing interdisciplinary communication literature, and remain attentive to both the challenges and opportunities of today's evolving communication ecosystem.