The phenomenon of Information Laundering: how fakes disguise themselves as legitimate media through a cascade of reprints

Imagine reading a news story on a website that looks like your local newspaper. It links to a “study” by another similar publication, or to an “expert” from a dubious foundation. The circle is complete, creating the illusion of credibility. Welcome to the world of “disappearing news,” where truth is separated from lies by dozens of fictitious links designed to deceive.

The phenomenon of information legalization “Information Laundering” is a set of methods and technologies for manipulating information aimed at creating the appearance of reliable data when distorting, falsifying or deliberately concealing the true origin and content of information. Such a practice is becoming increasingly widespread in the modern digital environment, when the Internet is becoming the main source of news and knowledge for millions of people. Information can be subject to change through data processing algorithms, selective publication of facts, hidden advertising campaigns and other mechanisms of influence.

The main forms of manifestation of the phenomenon

• Creation of fake sources: Using duplicate websites of well-known publications, fake accounts of authoritative experts and organizations to disseminate false information under the guise of official information.

In 2019-2020, a massive network of more than 1,300 websites that appeared to be independent local news outlets (e.g., Tucson Times, Lansing Sun) were exposed. In reality, they were created by a single PR firm and distributed content for political and corporate clients.

• Hidden advertising: The introduction of advertising messages disguised as objective articles, analytical materials or expert opinions.

In 2020, anti-vax movements in the United States disguised their messaging as objective news reports. More than a dozen news stations (including a CBS affiliate in Washington, D.C.) aired segments in which anti-vax activists expressed “concerns” about COVID-19 vaccines, falsely claiming that they had not been adequately tested. The broadcasts did not identify the speakers as affiliated with discredited movements. By gaining access to trusted news sources, anti-vax activists were able to emerge from the margins and increase their movement’s credibility.

• Use of botnets: Automatic generation of a large number of comments, likes, reposts, creating the illusion of public resonance around a certain topic or event.

During Mexico’s 2018 presidential election, bots boosted thousands of likes on Facebook pages critical of one of the candidates to create the appearance of public support for the claims being made. However, most of the pages were found to be operated from abroad.

• Selective presentation of material: Focusing only on those facts that support a particular point of view, ignoring other information.

According to the National Institute for Space Research (INPE) in São Paulo, deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest more than doubled in January 2020 compared to the previous year, clearing more than 280 square kilometers of forest, up 108% from the previous 12 months. Vice President Amourun said that while a 9.5% increase was bad, the government had avoided the even higher 20% increase that some estimates had predicted. In this way, the negative absolute result (the highest since 2008) was presented as something close to being achieved. Rather than admit failure, officials focused on a hypothetical, even worse scenario to make the real disaster seem manageable or even a partial victory.

• Pseudoscience: Presenting untested hypotheses and theories as scientific research, supporting them with unreliable references to non-existent studies and institutions.

QAnon conspiracy theories have been presented as “research” with references to non-existent institutions or experts. For example, in 2020, members of the movement actively promoted pseudoscientific claims about conspiracies, the dangers of masks, and 5G, which were presented as “based on expert analysis.”

• Manipulation of language and terminology: Changing the meaning of words and concepts in a way that changes the audience’s perception of events.

Abortion opponents in the United States consistently use the term “pro-life,” which creates a positive and moral image of their position. Abortion rights supporters use the term “pro-choice,” emphasizing a woman’s right to decide.

• Reverse Source Manipulation: Leveraging the opinions of discredited individuals or entities to spread disinformation under the guise of neutrality.

Anti-vaccine movements have for decades cited Wakefield, who in 1998 published a fraudulent study linking the MMR (measles-mumps-rubella) vaccine to autism. His thoroughly discredited opinion is presented as “an alternative viewpoint from a courageous doctor who exposed the truth,” portraying him as the victim of a “drug company conspiracy,” misleading the audience about the scientific consensus on vaccine safety.

• Artificial increase in citation: Creation of fake links and mentions in other sources that increase the importance of unreliable publications.

The United States has a vast network of over 1,000 pseudo-news websites that mimic independent local media (e.g., Chicago City Wire). These sites, funded by political operators and special interest groups, are used to mass-produce partisan content (e.g., on social issues with an ideological slant). Their key tactic is cross-quoting and creating the illusion of widespread media coverage to lend weight to certain political narratives.

• Politicization of content: Artificial linking of individual topics to political processes without proper justification.

Since the beginning of the 2020 pandemic, the origin of the SARS-CoV-2 virus has been the subject of intense politicization, including by popular American media (Fox News, Newsmax). For example, without providing irrefutable evidence, the theory of a leak from the Wuhan Institute of Virology was actively promoted not as a scientific hypothesis, but as a political narrative against China. This led to the wearing of masks, quarantine measures, and vaccinations being viewed not as public health issues, but as symbols of political loyalty.

The danger of information manipulation is obvious. It can lead to serious consequences both at the individual level and on the scale of the state and society:

• Violation of the rights of citizens to receive objective and accurate information.
• Formation of false stereotypes of perception of reality.
• Undermining trust in traditional media.
• Emergence of conflicts based on misunderstanding of real processes.
• Restriction of freedom of speech and pluralism of opinions.
• Decrease in the quality of public discussion and the level of political culture of the population.

The phenomenon of legalization of information proves that in the modern world it is not enough to simply read the news — it is necessary to read them “the other way around”: check the sources, look for the original source and ask the question “who benefits?” The fight against this phenomenon begins not with new laws or algorithms, but with the critical thinking of each user.