‘Misinformation’ as an Agent of Hate in International Political Discourse

Hated arises when misunderstanding or prejudice evoke strong emotions that are rooted in moral beliefs. In digital mass media, we encounter an onslaught of information that is depersonalized, setting the stage for simplistic narratives that foreground a clash of moral perspectives. In international conflicts, domestic news reporting becomes the moral authority to which citizens orient, galvanizing the potential for hate when narratives conflict. This study proposes to investigate the theme of “misinformation” in U.S.-Russian media discourse: (i) what is called misinformation by Russian sources and U.S. reporters, (ii) how allegations are made and responded to on each side, and (iii) what are the moral contextual frames in which claims of misinformation and the disputed text are embedded. While there is no doubt that some facts are not presented accurately in political discourse, we propose that the term misinformation will be applied not only to misreported facts, but also to accurately reported facts that are embedded within a competing moral frame. Moreover, misreported and accurately reported facts are likely to be most frequently contested when they occur within a competing moral frame. Understanding the role of moral frames in igniting hate is crucial to identifying narrative strategies that hinder conflict resolution.