“Some Influences Die Hard”
An Introduction into the Taxonomy and Effects of Mis- and Desinformation

Workshop @ Litigation PR Conference 2019

N.CH organised the workshop “Some Influences Die Hard” in the forerun of the Litigation PR Conference 2019. It introduced participants to the taxonomy and effects of mis- and disinformation.

Christoph Abels and Daniel Hardegger began the two and a half hour workshop with an overview of media reporting on mis- and disinformation. Afterwards, conceptual questions were addressed: What is misinformation? What distinguishes it from disinformation? What are deep fakes? After answering these question and providing example cases, relevant factors were discussed which support the dissemination of disinformation. These factors include: a changing media consumption, powerful distribution mechanisms on social media, specific journalistic practices as well as individual cognitive biases.

After this theoretical introduction, the workshop highlighted the implications for the litigation PR practice. Different scenarios were outlined in which deep fakes, manipulated pictures and videos often used to deceive recipients, have damaging effects on corporations: from showing apparently criminal behaviour of a company’s CEO to the false announcement of multi-million-euro donations to charity. Afterwards, Christoph and Daniel addressed the limits of photo forensics and presented different countermeasures.

The workshop closed with two case studies, asking participants to engage with the implications of deep fakes – for both prosecutors and defendants.

For more information about the conference please visit Litigation PR Conference webpage.