all right. so we often use the terms misinformation and disinformation interchangeably. but there is a real difference between the two. misinformation, quite frankly, has always been around. but it is a challenge that we are now always dealing with as a result of social media and 24-hour information streams where the connected world make it s so easy to circulate incorrected information that gets floated and shared. disinformation, on the other hand, is when people deliberately put incorrect or false information out there to achieve a political objective or even create a society of ill-informed or disengaged people. and that is what is really troubling about what we are seeing right now. where right-wing politicians and others are promoting things that they know are false and inaccurate. right now there is an entire right-wing propaganda network on fox news that is intentionally
that is what s world troubling about what we are seeing right now right-wing politicians are promoting things that they know are false and inaccurate. there is an anti-right-wing propaganda network on fox news that is intentionally spreading disinformation. lies that serve to fundamentally undermine our democracy. that is fundamentally dangerous. keeps people on the sidelines and undermines how our democracy works. the consequences of disinformation, at least i think, are much more agree just on the overall functioning of our democracy. ben smith is the new york times media columnist, he joins us now, his latest piece explains how academics and journalists are navigating the murkiness of this disinformation war. as i mentioned he joins us. you talk to harvard readers that study this information, tell us what they are advising media companies like ours, and