A series of reports examining how resilience to misinformation can be strengthened in Australia. The reports explore why people are susceptible to misinformation and how to build resilience at individual, community and societal levels. They found that misinformation poses a risk to Australia’s social cohesion, democratic resilience and decision making. The synthesis report provides an overview of the findings. The four supporting reports provide detailed analysis, references and discipline specific findings.

Typically, misinformation is understood to be false or misleading information spread regardless of the intent to mislead. Disinformation is false or misleading information that is deliberately spread.

Supporting reports

• How misinformation undermines social cohesion, trust and democracy
• A framework for misinformation interventions
• The role of cultural and community institutions
• The impact of mental and physical health on resilience to misinformation.

Key findings

• Susceptibility to misinformation is shaped by human psychology, trust and how people process information.
• Resilience can be strengthened by information and media literacy, supported by education, public awareness and community-based initiatives.
• Mental and physical health, social connection and trust play an important role in people’s capacity to assess information.
• A shared understanding of basic facts and trusted sources supports social cohesion and democratic resilience.