Between the Past and the Present: Contributions to Understanding Disinformation in Contemporary Times From a Historicizing Perspective

Abstract

The aim of the work is to analyze the different historicizing elements that characterized disinformation in the past, especially from the 6th century onwards, in relation to the contemporary developments and characteristics of the phenomenon. A bibliographical review was carried out and the article was divided into three sessions: firstly, we sought to contextualize the understanding of the phenomenon in the Disinformation Society (Marshall, 2017); then, examples and strategic uses of information and communication are discussed with the aim of disinforming from a historical perspective, with some examples between the 6th and 19th centuries, of how false information circulated and was also capable of influencing public opinion in the past and , finally, characterizations are defined that make it possible to differentiate and attribute misinformation in contemporary times. It is concluded that misinformation can be attributed to life in society itself as a field of social and communicational relations, but in the contemporary scenario, it is based on a logic of circulation and meaning effects driven by digital social networks. The various technological, economic, social, political and cultural specificities of contemporary disinformation that exist regarding disinformation are also important factors that allow us to analyze the phenomenon as something endemic to today's society.