“A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes.” That popular quote is often attributed to Mark Twain. But since we’re talking about misinformation and disinformation, you’ll be unsurprised to learn Twain never said that at all. In fact, no one knows who first strung those words together, but the idea that truth spreads slowly while lies spread quickly is at least several hundred years old.
The “Twain” quote also serves to highlight the difference between misinformation and disinformation. Misinformation is a mistake. It’s false information spread with a benign or, at the very least, non-harmful intent.
Disinformation, on the other hand, is deception. Its intent is to mislead, cause harm, or profit from a falsehood. And as long as lies remain profitable and easy to spread, businesses must learn to be quick on their feet.
The Damage Done by Disinformation
It all boils down to intent: What is the aim of the person or group spreading the information? Real-world examples show the harm these deceptions cause and the seeds they plant for future exploits.
In 2019, scammers used AI software to mimic the voice of a European energy company CEO. They placed a call using the fake voice and urgently asked an employee to send €220,000 ($243,000) to a Hungarian supplier within an hour. The scammers, nervous because the money didn’t arrive as quickly as anticipated, called twice more. This made the employee suspicious. By then, it was too late to recall the funds. The scammers got the money, but fraud insurance protected the company from any monetary loss.
Though little harm was done, this incident ..
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