Professor Sander van der Linden's upcoming book, Foolproof: Why We Fall for Misinformation and How to Build Immunity, has important lessons for leaders and internal communicators.
Let's contrast that with flatter hierarchies, such as start-ups and small businesses. Is it easier to spread misinformation in those environments? In some respects, yes."All it takes is for one person to post a memo and then someone else picks it up and it can organically diffuse if the hierarchies are a bit more flat," says van der Linden.One line between misinformation and full-blown conspiracy theories is intention; specifically, the existence of"nefarious intent.
"The question of intent is important, but it's also difficult to prove. That's why I use the term misinformation most of the time unless it's been proven that it was documented and intentional." Van der Linden then mentions famous examples of bad actors in business and ponders their intention.
What makes our leaders credible? Van der Linden thinks it's about demonstrating transparency and trustworthiness."But trustworthiness is different than trust in an interesting way. It's about trust to do what, exactly? Would you trust a colleague to babysit? Or do you instead trust them to take on a task for you at work? It's very nuanced." To gain trust, leaders need to demonstrate a track record of trustworthy behaviour.
The workplace is a prime example of an echo chamber where certain teams and people self-select into groups — which can hamper inclusion efforts, as van der Linden suggests."You're in a building with people who do similar work. You can be insulated from other perspectives, which can undermine credibility. If you're just thinking about the same stuff that other people like you are thinking about, you might miss out on other perspectives, critiques, and reflections.
Van der Linden leaves businesses with this warning."A lot of companies underestimate the risk of disinformation for their bottom line. If misinformation about your business goes viral, it can tank your share price." More crucially, it can tank employees' trust in their places of work.
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