7am Disinformation Wars and a ‘Post Truth’ World
Mar 22, 2026
Hamish Macdonald, ABC journalist and documentary presenter known for investigating media and misinformation. He explores how viral social posts and deepfakes spread falsehoods, the blurred line between misinformation and disinformation, and the geopolitical use of online lies. He also discusses public overconfidence in spotting fakes and practical ways to build media literacy.
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Difference Between Misinformation And Disinformation
- Misinformation can be unintentional while disinformation is deliberate and often automated, sometimes produced by bots or other countries to push narratives.
- Hamish Macdonald explains disinformation may be created knowing it's false and disseminated to sew narratives into another country's information ecosystem.
Bondi Photo Mislead About Police Response
- After the Bondi attack people circulated a cropped photo accusing officers of inaction, but the wider image showed police helping and warding off the public.
- This misused image became a viral false narrative in the attack's aftermath.
Overconfidence Undermines Spotting Fakes
- People who think they're good at spotting fakes are often worse at identifying them because cognitive biases trick us when we're confident.
- Hamish's social experiments showed overconfidence reduces accuracy in spotting manipulated media.