Misinformation—From Persuasion to Strategic Manipulation

Misinformation influences cognition—shaping memory, beliefs, attitudes, reasoning, and decision making—but its function within the information ecosystem has shifted from persuasion to being strategically employed to generate epistemic uncertainty. Such strategic manipulation by incentivised actors serves to construct “alternative realities” that undermine shared truth and institutional trust. This paper reviews recent evidence on the direct cognitive and behavioural impacts of misinformation, examines the transformative roles of social media and generative artificial intelligence, and considers broader epistemological consequences, including the erosion of truth norms and implications for democratic discourse. Addressing these challenges requires coordinated individual and systemic interventions that integrate psychological, technological, educational, and regulatory approaches to strengthen epistemic resilience and safeguard evidence-informed public reasoning and decision-making.