A risk-analysis framework for evaluating the impact of information disorders

What kind of risk-based framework could support an evaluation of impacts resulting from information disorders (e.g., misinformation, disinformation, fake news)? To evaluate their consequences, the starting point proposed in this article is to set out criteria to prioritise which type, and which domain to locate them in. Next, a wide range of research literatures investigating information disorders guided the selection of risk factors to include in a risk-based framework (e.g., target, actor, content, form, manner of distribution, consequences). Moving from the abstract to the concrete, the criteria and risk factors were examined with reference to current real-world examples of information disorders drawn from a variety of setting (e.g., academic research, advertising campaigns, cyberattacks, peer-to-peer corporate transactions, public weather warnings). One of the main challenges exposed through this process was evidencing impact (tangible losses, intangible losses). This, and other limitations that were revealed through real cases are discussed in the concluding section which stress the need for an incident database of information disorders. Having a shared resource of real-world cases could better inform the development of a risk assessment methodology, as well as advancing theory development and closing some evidence gaps through future empirical research.