In our current social and political landscape, ‘Fake News’ has dominated the global conversation, but how do we recognize what is mis- and disinformation? And how can we contain it? In this webinar, we take a closer look at this pressing issue, and how to use technology to mitigate the effects of misinformation and fight distrust.

1. Powered by
What’s Next:
The World of
Fake News

2. Welcome
Iain Bundred
EMEA Managing Director for PR & Influence at
Ogilvy and UK Executive Director for the WPP
Government & Public Sector Practice
José Arteaga
Creative Digital Strategist
Ogilvy Consulting

3. Tell us
where you
are dialing
in from!
What’s the weather
like in your city?

4. Do you
want this
deck?
It will be available for download
shortly after the webinar on:
slideshare.net/socialogilvy
Ogilvy staff: It’s also on
The Market!
themarket.ogilvy.com

5. MISINFORMATIONORMISINFORMED?
Iain Bundred
Executive Director, WPP Government & Public Sector Practice
THURSDAY20THSEPTEMBER2018

6. Why misinformation matters
We all must
manage and
combat it
What’s new in fake
news
The risk of further
dividing society

7. PUTTING
THE NEW INTO FAKE NEWS

9. Governments, brands and key executives may
face completely false campaigns mounted
against them in high volume and rapid
frequency

10. For Mr Trump, fake news is
what is propagated by his
critics in the mainstream media
he loves to loathe.
For his critics, it is the
dissemination by Mr Trump
and his supporters of
“alternative facts” — a
phrase coined by members
of his campaign to explain
persistent anomalies in their
account of reality.

11. MISINFORMATION
DISINFORMATION
CLICKBAIT DIVISIVE/TARGETED
PROPAGANDA DEEP FAKES
GENUINE MISUNDERSTANDING STATE SPONSORED

12. "A lie can travel half
way around the
world while the
truth is putting on
its shoes."
−Mark Twain
or Jonathan Swift?

13. Misinformation through the ages
Glyndwr Michael
‘Major Martin’
Pakistan’s
“Vaccination Wars”
Rameses II

14. Reuters Institute | Digital News Report 2017
Social fuelling
misinformation
Rapid spread of unverified
information
Algorithms drive
confirmation bias
Little regulation

15. 15

16. Why we shouldn’t laugh

17. Can we tell the difference?
Adults’ Media Use and Attitudes Report | Ofcom report May 2018

18. Edelman Trust Barometer

19. Shaking our confidence in every country
Fake News and Disinformation Online | European Commission February 2018

20. With
more
to come

21. TAPPING INTO A
SOCIETAL SHIFT

22. Media is becoming disintermediated

23. We are increasingly looking
into filter bubbles

24. The rise of alternative
media
Any growth in alternative
media outlets is a cause for
concern.
Without editorial balance
they can lead to a rise in
online disinformation,
feeding echo chambers.

25. And it’s getting
easier to mislead

26. RUSSIAN BOTS? ACTIVISTS? CITIZEN JOURNALISTS?
26
Who is responsible for sharing ‘fake news’?

27. Events typically have a 72hr public reaction peak
Example incident conversation assessment, Blue State Digital, 2017

28. Automated accounts often shout loudest at first swaying momentum
Bot versus public post comparison, Blue State Digital, 2018

29. Consistent with natural biases

30. Wired
for dirt.
Living in digital.
Our brain has not evolved
as rapidly as our
environment has.
Because we are using an
old version of software
(our brain) not best suited
for our current
environment, COGNITIVE
BIASES occur.
COGNITIVE BIASES are
disconnects that lead us
to inaccurate or poor
decisions.
This leads to struggling to
cope today with an
outdated decision-making
system. We are
“predictably irrational.”
Ogilvy
Center for Behavioral Science

31. Countering worldviews
Yale Cultural Cognition Project

32. Dan Kahan’s view on misinformation
Six conclusions (conjectures):
1. The public’s engagement with fake news is not credulous; it is
motivated
2. “Fact checking” and like means of correcting false belief are
unlikely to be effective and could in fact backfire
3. “Fake news” of the Macedonian variety is not particularly
consequential
4. What is potentially consequential are the forms of
“counterfeit social proof” distributed by the Russians
5. Information that is most likely to preempt or reverse features
vivid and believable examples of diverse groups
6. Fact polarization is a problem for science communication but
it isn’t a consequence of science communication
Dan Kahan, Cultural Cognition Project, June 2018

33. In short, WE are responsible
“Contrary to conventional
wisdom, robots accelerated
the spread of true and false
news at the same rate,
implying that false news
spreads more than the truth
because
humans, not robots,
are more likely to spread it.”
Vosoughi, Roy and Aral paper in Science Magazine March 2018

34. WHAT CAN YOU
DO?

35. …in different ways
Governments around the world are
responding

36. Regulation vs communication
TAXATION REGULATION LEGISLATION COMMUNICATIONTAXATION REGULATION LEGISLATION COMMUNICATION

37. Some are stepping in…

38. Before we begin
Stick to the
strategy
Clarify, don’t
amplify
Never mislead

39. 1 Contain
Remove the
noise
Generate
actionable
insights
Detect
volume
signals

40. A lot of new tools have apis that can be adapted for specific projects
OsoMe is a joint project of
the Indiana University
Network Science Institute
and the Centre for
Complex Networks and
Systems research.
They develop tools with
apis that can be adapted to
best suit project needs
such as Botometer and
Hoaxy.

41. Custom technology can estimate scale and % level of automated messaging
Example bot identifying spectrum, Blue State Digital, 2018
For UK audiences, we have to
caveat that we’re using a self-
stated, unverified location set
by the user or IP address
(where applicable).
Global audiences often
contain UK individuals also so
manually tagged, qualitative
grouping can be more
accurate.

42. 2 Counter narrate
Methodically
target those
exposed
Respond
authentically
(mobile-first)
Contextualise
quickly

43. Creating audience panels can highlight where trends are segmented
Understanding listening volumes by segment, Blue State Digital, 2018
At times, it may be revealing to
construct lists to build audience panels
that reveal whether insights transcend
or trend within segments.
For instance, exporting Twitter lists or
using Opinion monitor within Crimson
Hexagon you can construct panels that
represent political or media audiences.

44. 3 Calculate
Analyse daily Co-ordinate across
Government
Look for trends
and
vulnerabilities

45. Layering publically available information together constructs a view
Monthly search volumes
673,000
Monthly social & news
mentions
80,000
Monthly search data
This is important for us to be aware of and consider as part of the
consumer perception market-level view. It will likely review topics
and triggers that lead to our audience taking action. A digital search
is often the first expressed desire to ‘find out more’. Having said
that, qualitative research would focus on social and online news
Monthly social data - owned, earned & paid
Within our tools view, we are considering technology that can tell us
about:
Owned: our channel presence and impact, perception
Earned: how our audiences are talking about us
Paid: what impact paid support is having for us and select competitors
Monthly social data - channel split
Some technologies are encrypted and different tools offer differing levels of access to
different platforms - we’re considering how we use a mix that would allow us a
qualitative view of conversations taking place across Facebook, Google +, YouTube,
Instagram, Tumblr Twitter, Sina Weibo, Tencent Wibo, Todou, Youku, LINE, Wechat,
VK
Online news
We need to ensure we’re looking at articles and key messages generated as well as
consumer reaction and conversation generated across networks via articles.
Twitter interactions
5,000
YouTube interactions
4,800
Facebook interactions
17,500
Instagram interactions
45,500
News articles
240
Blogs
75
Google + interactions
3,900
Forums
27

46. 4 Campaign
Question
everything
Build campaigning
mentality
Get ahead of the
next meme

47. Example listening to impact response

48. How can you be better prepared?
Don’t just launch,
prepare for
attacks
Listen and
understand
audience
Consider a blend of
planned and
responsive comms

49. Questions?
Iain Bundred
EMEA Managing Director for PR & Influence at
Ogilvy and UK Executive Director for the WPP
Government & Public Sector Practice
José Arteaga
Creative Digital Strategist
Ogilvy Consulting

50. Thank you.

51. THANK YOU.
FORMOREONMISINFORMATION&WPPGOVERNMENT:
iain.bundred@ogilvy.com