Examining the State of the Misinformation Studies Literature Using a Techno-Social Framework of Deceptive Communication

• In Event: Studying Deceptive Communication: An Integrative Approach to Misinformation Studies

Abstract

The existing literature in the misinformation studies field is diverse containing disciplines from computer science to communications and sociology. Each discipline takes a different approach to defining, modeling, and studying the same phenomenon. Without an organizing framework, it is difficult to connect existing work and examine it as a whole. The techno-social framework of deceptive communication addresses these concerns by modeling misinformation as a contextual communicative process with a message provider, a message receiver, and the technology to transmit and receive the message. Using a sample of articles from an existing interdisciplinary meta-synthesis of misinformation studies (Broda & Stromback, 2024), we identify which techno-social model components are addressed in the literature. This allows researchers to identify the relative strengths and weaknesses of their discipline’s approaches to misinformation and locate their research within the communicative process. After presenting descriptive findings, we discuss the implications for misinformation studies and next steps for future research.

Authors

• Rory Powers, United States Air Force Academy

• Sarah Bostrom, United States Air Force Academy

• K. Ryan Proctor, Athena Institute of Mechanistic Science

• Richard E. Niemeyer, United States Air Force Academy