TAXONOMY OF FALSEHOODS AND INFORMATION DISORDER IN DIGITAL MEDIA: CONTENT DISTORTION, INTENTIONALITY, AND DIFFUSION PATTERNS

The article examines false information in digital media as a sociotechnical phenomenon that is shaped at the intersection of content distortions, producer intent, and networked platform mechanisms of diffusion. Given the blurred nature of the everyday use of the terms fake and fake news, a conceptual delimitation of related phenomena is undertaken, and the tendency to universalise these concepts across different types of falsehood is critically analysed. The aim of the article is to provide a theoretical generalisation of the mechanisms through which false information is created in digital media, as well as to develop and theoretically substantiate an operationalised analytical framework for distinguishing forms of false information in digital media and countering it. Within the theoretical review, definitions and typologies are systematised, with attention to message format, degree of invention, ways of misleading, the role of context, and visual markers of credibility. It is argued that the social consequences of falsehood are often shaped not by an isolated “fabricated” media text, but by the repetitiveness of messages and by those conditions of recipients’ perception under which verification of accuracy yields to the practice of diffusion. On this basis, a three-dimensional analytical framework is proposed, combining the truth status of claims, producer intent, and the degree of organisational structuring of diffusion. The framework is presented as a tool for the systematic analysis of specific cases, where it is necessary to separate an unintentional error from deliberate deception, and a single publication – from campaign-like dissemination. In addition, a principle of correspondence between the type of case and the mode of countering is formulated, linking the diagnosis of a variety of falsehood with the selection of a relevant response strategy – from correction and explanation to moderation, sanctions, institutional verification, and the enhancement of media literacy. The proposed approach provides grounds for comparative research, applied monitoring, and the harmonisation of terminology in scholarly and professional discussions.