Disinformation Is A Virus

The COVID19 pandemic not only acted as an accelerant of disinformation, but accelerated the negative consequences of disinformation. The problem has become so rampant, that even a demonstration of the disinformation risks amplifying its content. Seeking an alternative, Disinformation Is A Virus shows the spread and mutation through a model of the virus lifecycle. By focusing on the transmission and spread rather than content, the model demonstrates that online groups, journalistic coverage, political messaging and even countermeasures can unintentionally mutate and spread the disinformation. By understanding disinformation as a structural problem rather than a content problem, different pre-emptive measures that can be explored.