The spread of misinformation and disinformation has become a defining challenge of our time. According to the World Economic Forum, it’s the biggest global threat in the next two years. For businesses, false information can cause serious operational, reputational and financial damage.
GenAI has democratized fraud, making it easier and cheaper for bad actors to create sophisticated synthetic content, like voice clones, deepfakes and counterfeit websites.
“With such speed, sophistication and scale, businesses and platforms need a proactive, layered defense strategy,” says explains Andrea Ran, Senior Director, Trust & Safety, TaskUs, in our recent webinar, “Detect, Verify, Protect: Fighting AI-Driven Misinformation at Scale.”
Understanding today’s threats
The first step of any strong defense is understanding the nature of the threat. This means knowing the difference between misinformation and disinformation.
McKenzie Sadeghi, Editor of AI and Foreign Influence, NewsGuard, says to think of misinformation as an honest mistake. Someone sees a fake story online, believes it’s true and shares it with their friends without fact-checking it. Then there’s a chain reaction.
Disinformation, on the other hand, is a deliberate act of deception. A malicious actor intentionally crafts a false narrative to manipulate public opinion or target specific groups.
The key difference is intent. But, as McKenzie points out, “At the end of the day, both of these categories of false information really can pose a threat to brands, to the public and democracies.”
The stakes are higher
The fallout from these threats hits both businesses and their customers hard.
“False narratives can be crafted to create a sense of urgency, fear or even false opportunity,” says Andrea.
She adds that misinformation and disinformation can quickly erode trust, leading to an increased number of support inquiries from confused or agitated users, or unwanted attention from regulators. Bad actors also exploit misinformation for profits tricking users into revealing sensitive data or making fraudulent transactions.
Fighting back and getting ahead
The most effective solution for fighting back against today’s fast moving, sophisticated threats, according to the experts, is a human-in-the-loop strategy. This approach combines people’s expertise and the scale of AI.
According to Andrea, “While AI tools are very powerful for scaling detection and identifying patterns, humans bring nuanced understanding to complex pieces of content.” People can verify information, assess context and determine intent.
McKenzie echoes this, explaining that while it’s possible for an AI model to flag problematic campaigns, it doesn’t conduct original reporting. “It can’t call up a source or comb through public records and find the truth,” says McKenzie.
Going forward, defenses must be as fast and precise as the threats. Using AI helps anticipate and counter the speed and volume of attacks. Layering on human expertise helps ensure trust.
Learn how to implement these strategies and build a more robust defense for your organization and users.
