Information laundering

Information laundering, as summarized by the American comedian and commentator Jon Stewart, can happen when relatively reputable news organizations report on something that a blog or platform of unknown credibility has written. These news organizations may attribute the assertion, but another publication may omit its original source. "That piece of information [on where the news came from] has now been laundered," Stewart says, and the original assertion, whether or not its source was credible, gains credibility, especially if it is used by outlets known for high standards.[1]

According to Adam Klein of Pace University, "Conspiracies grow in communities like Reddit or Twitter, which can act as incubators. Then they graduate onto more respected websites and political blogs, until sometimes, they’re picked up by mainstream news outlets as 'trusted information."[4] Klein, who developed this theory, argues that information laundering is similar to how criminals launder illegal funds into financial institutions.[5][6][7] In this case, illegitimate exchanges of information flow through social networks, political blogs, and search engines, where they intermix with mainstream ideas, and gradually become washed of their radical origins.

Digital platforms can be especially vulnerable to information laundering efforts. "Bots, fake accounts and click farms pretend to be people they’re not and create a false sense of consensus," Karen Kornbluh and Ellen Goodman wrote in Nextgov. Faked video and images can create media moments and spread disinformation.[8] "The platforms, which are designed to keep users online to be served ads, end up privileging engagement over truth or the public interest. What drives engagement is often outrage and disgust, so this is what the algorithm rewards."[9]

According to a report by NATO in 2020, state actors that engage in information laundering, particularly Russia, "are generally supported by cyber capabilities that enhance the spread and amplification of a laundered piece, e.g. through the creation of fake personas and burner accounts, and sophisticated for manipulation of information, e.g. through the distribution of forged letters."[10]

American intelligence officials say Russia has used information laundering to spread disinformation in the West about the COVID-19 pandemic[11] and the 2020 elections in the United States.[12][13][14] The Russian effort has included a network of fake accounts on social media.[12] Russian propaganda using information laundering is also suspected in stoking fears about 5G technology.[15] The Alliance for Securing Democracy, an American group that opposes Russian efforts to undermine Western elections, cites maskirovka, a Soviet-era military doctrine that translates as "mask" or "masquerade", as a precursor to Russian information laundering.[2]

Local "Save the Children" rallies in 2020 by supporters of QAnon, an American far-right conspiracy theory, were an example of information laundering, as QAnon hijacked a unifying cause in attempts to attract credulous local television news coverage, according to Brandy Zadrozny of NBC News.[16]

Information laundering was alleged in the spreading of false news by social media in the 2018 Mexican election.[17]

In 2013, WikiLeaks, which publishes secret information from anonymous sources, was said in a commentary by Jonathan Holmes on ABC Australia to be information laundering.[18]

• Trading up the chain
• Astroturfing