(Dis)information Systems: a Systemic View of Disinformation

ABSTRACT Disinformation is an ancient social phenomenon that has found a favourable environment for dissemination in internet‐based social networks. While the scientific community seeks to address the problem by creating specific tools to detect and classify the various types of false information, we argue that systems thinking is necessary to understand and holistically address this major threat. The works that directly cite Disinformation Systems treat this term as a grouping of concepts, mechanisms, objectives and institutions in a large multidisciplinary repository that finds a self‐explanation in the term systems. Through a qualitative and theoretical basis, this research proposes that the generation of disinformation can be defined as a system model, theorizing that the entire process of creating, producing and disseminating disinformation can be defined systematically. Thus, we define an initial descriptive model and affirm that the generation of disinformation can be characterized in terms of a sociotechnical work system. We tested the model in historical disinformation scenarios showing that it fits the components and flows of the system. Although initial, this work has the potential to enable the development of new systemic insights and research in the area of disinformation.