[World Council of Churches] A Dec. 5 webinar hosted by the World Council of Churches and World Association for Christian Communication explored how churches have been involved in disinformation or misinformation, and what they can do to prevent these cases. Speakers offered an overview of the state of disinformation as well as case studies from various parts of the world. 

World Association for Christian Communication deputy general secretary Sara Speicher, who moderated the discussion, opened by offering a definition of information. “Information itself is the basis on which all of our decisions are made, individually and collectively,” she said. “The better the information – the more complete, relevant, accurate, and understandable it is – the better our decisions can be.”

Eliott Higgins, founder and creative director of the investigative journalism platform Bellingcat, offered remarks on the roots of disinformation. “Often, if you actually look at where disinformation is coming from, and the misinformation that also goes along with it, the kinds of forces behind them are very similar,” he said. “They basically have social, technological, psychological, and emotional factors involved.”

Read the entire article here.