Disinformation has become one of the buzzwords of our time. It appears in news headlines, political speeches, and social media debates almost daily. Countless researchers study its conceptual and empirical aspects, fact-checking has become part of media coverage and politicians constantly warn about its dangers to democracy. With so much attention, it is easy to assume that we know everything there is to know about the phenomenon of disinformation. But do we? In a recent study commissioned by the Bundesnetzagentur, a research team led by Ann-Kathrin Watolla, Patrick Zerrer, Jan Rau, Lisa Merten, Matthias C. Kettemann, and Cornelius Puschmann conducted a scoping review on how disinformation affects electoral processes. This article unpacks three common assumptions about disinformation and takes a closer look at what we actually know and don’t know.
