Combating Misinformation & Disinformation: A Public Health Impact Perspective
- Nesha Abiraj
- Jun 30, 2025
- 3 min read
Op-Ed
by Nesha Abiraj
International Human Rights Lawyer
President & Co-Founder
Climate Rights & Justice International
June 27th, 2025
What is your first thought when you receive a photo, a video, an article, or other message from a trusted friend or family member or even a health care provider, professor or teacher? What if the message is about an emergency or something of grave public importance? More often than not we do not pause to think about investigating and/or verifying the source of messages we receive, especially if it comes from someone we trust. No one is immune to misinformation and disinformation. The good news is together, we can combat fake news by holding ourselves and others accountable.
We live in a world where Big Tech has now made it easier than ever to enable the spread of misinformation and disinformation at a rate, which no single organization can keep up with. As individuals, schools, businesses and organizations we have to ask ourselves where do we draw the line? Do we sink into apathy and do nothing, or do we rise to the occasion and accept we each have an individual responsibility to combat fake news?
We need to hold ourselves responsible and accountable for the information we share and if possible encourage others to do the same. Here's why:
Misinformation can gravely impact our mental and physical health. Mental health providers noted, especially during the pandemic, persons felt like they had a limited and/or short-lived future or life span, a symptom usually experienced after a trauma. Misinformation can also perpetuate symptoms of depression, anxiety, insomnia, fear, grief and an increasing sense of isolation and loneliness. These traumatic emotional effects are heightened by extreme weather events, growing conflict, confusion and conspiracy theories about climate change and other public interest issues, spread in news media, online and even among friends. Fear in particular, is often amplified and can even lead to violence, especially when trusted authorities promote inconsistent opinions.
Disinformation refers to fabricated stories created with the intention to deceive and/or manipulate the public. The agents of disinformation campaigns typically aims to control, manipulate and thereby shape public opinion by launching influential messaging that flood social media networks with fake news. Notably these agents perpetuate disinformation via bots—software-controlled profiles that engage with humans. One notable reason for disinformation that is becoming increasingly quite common, is the use of disinformation to influence the outcome of elections, thereby eroding democracy.
When successful, influence operations sow doubt, create division, hate, discrimination, spread conspiracy theories, perpetuate violence, degrade trust in reliable sources such as the science behind climate change, and serve as a distraction tactic. Disinformation is harmful to everyone. It can cause the destruction of a person or an organization's reputation, manipulate stock markets, and perpetuate violence, instability and create unnecessary panic.
Preventing both of these phenomena requires an "all hands on deck" approach. At Climate Rights & Justice International we accept this is a core part of our shared responsibility, to act. In response, we have already taken words to action by launching "CRJI Climate Facts."
We call upon fellow nonprofits to collaborate with us in this endeavor. Climate Rights & Justice International, was never built to compete with other organizations, but to inter alia deal with existing gap areas and amplify the voices of the poorest, vulnerable and marginalized groups and partner with nonprofits who also champion social justice causes. Misinformation and disinformation is not unique to climate change, it affects every sector of society.
Hence, in addition to the aforementioned, based on our collective knowledge and experience as a nonprofit organization, we understand the benefit of collaborative work. When we work together and support each other in this endeavor, we will have a wider reach, and we will be better equipped as a global community, to keep up with the rate at which misinformation and disinformation is being fed into the public space as we speak. We will also inevitably build awareness and empower communities across the globe, to fight back and/or advocate for themselves, their families, their communities and countries. It starts with us.
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