Disinformation and Risk Society. What is at Stake with the Proliferation of Information Disorders

Embedded as it seems to be in the updated notion of modernity, disinformation is a widespread phenomenon that no longer looms over specific niches of individuals but, rather, threatens societies as a whole. Ulrich Beck’s notion of Risk Society becomes particularly relevant in this light, since it cross-refers to the combined action between humans and technologies that, as disinformation, have harmful side effects that have been naturally subsumed by citizens worldwide as an inevitable part of what it means to be alive these days. With this background, this book proposes both an examination of the academic findings obtained after almost a decade of prominent researchers systematically tackling different angles of disinformation as well as an analysis of the effectiveness of some of the initiatives that emerged as a response to counter its harmful effects.