Welcome to the Misinformation, Disinformation, and Critical Information Literacy Guide.

This guide is designed to support students, faculty, and researchers in understanding and navigating the complex information landscape. It offers an overview of misinformation types and tools for evaluating information sources. It introduces critical information literacy frameworks that encourage deeper engagement with the power structures behind information creation and dissemination. You’ll also find curated research databases, teaching tools, and highlights of related events and initiatives within the academic community.

Key Concepts

Claire Wardle, a leading expert in the study of misinformation, in "Information Disorder", made the distinction of three key concepts: misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation, based on whether they were built with the intention to harm. Additionally, she also listed seven types of mis- and disinformation. 

(Source: Claire Wardle, "Information Disorder")

These definitions are not always fixed. Misinformation, for example, should be contextualized within expert consensus and scientific evidence available at a specific point of time (Vraga and Bode, 2020). 

The Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education, developed by the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), offers a flexible and interconnected set of core concepts designed to help you navigate and understand today's dynamic information environment.

• Authority Is Constructed and Contextual: The credibility of information resources depends on their creators' expertise and how that authority is recognized within different communities and contexts. We should critically examine all evidence and recognize that various types of authority exist. 

• Information Creation as a Process: Information is a result of iterative process of researching, creating, revising, and disseminating. 

• Information Has Value: Information has multiple dimensions of values, including its role as a commodity, an educational tool, and a means of influence. Legal and socioeconomic factors also impact its production and dissemination.

• Research as Inquiry: Research is an iterative process driven by asking questions. It is about exploring open or unresolved problems and the inquiry extends beyond academia.

• Scholarship as Conversation: Scholarly and professional fields are ongoing discussions where new insights emerge from varied perspectives and interpretations over time. Understanding an issue often involves engaging with multiple competing viewpoints rather than seeking a single answer. 

• Searching as Strategic Exploration: Information searching is a nonlinear process that requires evaluating various sources and adapting strategies as new understanding develops. Effective searching involves flexibility and the use of diverse strategies.

By engaging with these ideas, you'll develop the skills to not only find information but also to critically evaluate it and use it ethically and effectively in your academic work and beyond.

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