Handling Misinformation in the Moment

Prefer to watch? The full live training recording is available as a bonus at the end of this course.

Misinformation doesn't wait for any news release. It can come from anywhere—a resident, a bot, a political actor, or a well-meaning but misinformed partner. It spreads before you even get a chance to respond.

Defining the Terms

Misinformation: False information shared with no intention to cause harm.

Disinformation: False information shared intentionally to cause harm.

Malinformation: True information shared intentionally to cause harm (think whistleblower scenarios).

Why It's Harder Than Traditional Crisis Comms

Traditional crisis communications is built around known events—fires, active shooters, weather emergencies. These follow patterns we can plan for.

Misinformation is different. It arrives suddenly out of nowhere, often anonymous, and you're pulled in five directions: leadership wanting quiet, legal wanting caution, the community wanting answers, and media wanting quotes—while you're trying to make sure no one gets hurt.

The key is having a plan in place before it happens, and working on your organizational brand so you're already the trusted source.

What You'll Learn

• Why facts alone don't change minds—and what does
• A triage system to classify and prioritize responses
• Four response paths: ignore, monitor, inform, or intervene
• Language that buys time without looking evasive
• How to handle bots, AI content, and coordinated attacks
• Building your misinformation response team