Does disinformation further intellectual vice?
Misinformation and disinformation have become topical issues in contemporary media, and indeed in our understanding of current conflicts. The BBC recently reported on the dangerous perpetration of disinformation throughout the Gaza-Israel war, highlighting how ‘false’ media outlets can push forward untrue narratives about what is really happening on the ground in order to benefit a political stance (Spring, 2023). This was evident across the board as some posts falsely claimed that Palestinians were faking the intensity of the injuries in Gaza, whilst others were trying to undermine the scale of the October 7th attacks on Israeli civilians (ibid). Further cases have been found where the content in itself was verified as true, but was misframed through false captioning,such as footage being used from previous wars (Suarez, 2023). As people move towards a greater reliance on social media platforms such as Instagram or X (formerly Twitter) for news updates, disinformation continues to play a harmful role in global perceptions of conflicts, as well as in increasing social polarisation. This case raises an interesting question: Does politicised disinformation further intellectual vice?
Prominent scholar Qussaim Cassam identifies vice epistemology as the “philosophical study of the nature, identity, and epistemological significance of intellectual vices” (Cassam, 2016:159). Intellectual character vices, such as dogmatism, ignorance to opposing views, and carelessness in selection of information, are vice-character traits that are assumed to impede on effective and responsible inquiry, and are often linked to perpetrators of Conspiracy Theories (Cassam, 2016). However, individuals do not need to be ‘full-blown’ conspiracists to adopt and display intellectual vices (ibid). Arguably, we are all prone to intellectual vice, however it is the extent to which we engage and perpetuate it that determines its harm.
Perpetration of disinformation in conflicts is nothing new. Horowitz (2019) describes disinformation as a contemporary form of warfare; it includes the utilisation of political power to influence or enforce policy as well as to spread a particular view on a conflict. However, what is particularly significant in the case of Gaza-Israel is the extent to which disinformation has been spread and shared on social media platforms, as Suarez (2023) has claimed that the volume of disinformation around this conflict is far beyond normal. In this regard, it raises concerns for the subsequent spread of intellectual vice through socio-political conflicts that are inherently extremely polarised.
In the case of the Gaza-Israel war, the nature of disinformation through Instagram and X make it clear that the aim is to mobilise support and undermine the opposition (Spring, 2023; Suarez, 2023). Thus, if we engage with Cassam’s perception of intellectual vice, the sole conceptual aim of disinformation here is to further a political view through false claims - an intellectually vicious act in itself. Further, many false claims on conflict are designed to appear to be encompassing a ‘truth’ that has been abandoned by mainstream media. Therefore, this mobilisation of support equally results in the sowing of mistrust, whereby disinformation actively pushes audiences towards less reliable media. In turn, this creates a false scepticism of any source that contradicts their belief, essentially generating the optimum environment for intellectual vice to flourish in. Importantly, mainstream media outlets are not immune to false reports, and indeed criticism and analysis of all information is highly important regardless of the source. However, it seems that disinformation across social media outlets on significant and highly intense conflicts has become somewhat of an enabling environment for intellectual vice - as mainstream media and the fluctuating criticism that comes with reporting is no longer desirable in a world where disinformation is common ground. Further, recommendation algorithms or ‘RAs’ are the algorithmic system in which social media users are placed into filter bubbles where they only interact with content that is linked to their likes and opinions (Fernándeza, Bellogínb,Cantadorb, 2021). This fosters echo-chambers which enable further intellectual vice.
It is clear that politicised disinformation can be used to perpetrate intellectual vice by advancing a political view through false claims, thereby enabling further dogmatism and irresponsible inquiry in viewers. Nonetheless, we must remain hopeful that social media platforms can be utilised for responsible and careful inquiry for those that are committed to intellectual virtue, which is guided by verification and disclaimers on false information.
Bibliography:
Spring, M. (2023). Who’s behind Israel-Gaza disinformation and hate online?. BBC [online]. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-67114313
Cassam, Q. (2016) Vice Epistemology. The Monist. 99 (2), pp. 159–180. Available at: doi:10.1093/monist/onv034.
Suarez, E. (2023). BBC expert on debunking Israel-Hamas war visuals: “The volume of misinformation on Twitter was beyond anything I’ve ever seen”. Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism [online] Available at: https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/news/bbc-expert-debunking-israel-hamas-war-visuals-volume-misinformation-twitter-was-beyond
Horowitz, M.A. (2019). Disinformation as warfare in the digital age: dimensions, dilemmas, and solutions. Journal of Vincentian Social Action, 4(2), pp. 5-21. Available at: https://scholar.stjohns.edu/jovsa/vol4/iss2/5
Fernández, M., Bellogín, A. and Cantador, I. (2021). Analysing the effect of recommendation algorithms on the amplification of misinformation. Cornell University arXiv preprint [online]. Available at:
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