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The auction business used to be fairly easy — or maybe we just didn’t know how complex it was? Now, with the Internet and the constant barrage of information at our fingertips, how do we know if anything is true or not?

I watch and read the news every day and often wonder if what I’m reading or hearing is true. After just a bit of research, I often find it’s not true. It would appear there’s more misinformation than accurate information … sometimes what I see auctioneers sharing [as news] is not true either. We’ve summarized below how any information can be portrayed as not true:

  • Lying involves intentionally providing false information to deceive others. It is a conscious act where the individual is aware of the truth but chooses to convey a falsehood instead. For instance, claiming to have finished a task when it hasn’t been started is a lie. The essence of lying is the deliberate intention to mislead.
  • Disinformation refers to the deliberate spread of false information to mislead or manipulate an audience. Unlike lying, which can be a one-time act, disinformation is often systematic and orchestrated. Governments, organizations, or individuals may use disinformation to influence public opinion obscure the truth on a large scale, such as during political campaigns, or undermine public trust in institutions. The key aspect of disinformation is its strategic and planned nature.
  • Misinformation is the spread of false or inaccurate information without the intent to deceive. Those disseminating misinformation believe the information to be true. For example, forwarding a social media post with incorrect health advice without verifying its authenticity constitutes misinformation. The primary difference between misinformation and disinformation is the lack of intent to deceive in the former.
  • Misleading involves presenting information that causes others to draw incorrect conclusions, even if the information itself is not entirely false. Misleading information can result from selective presentation, omission of critical facts, or framing. For example, a statistic presented without context can mislead people about its significance. Misleading does not necessarily involve false statements but manipulates perception by how information is delivered.
  • Ignorance is a lack of knowledge, awareness, or information about a subject. Ignorance can lead to the unintentional spread of misinformation, but it is distinct in that it does not involve any deliberate action to deceive. For instance, someone who shares outdated or incorrect information out of ignorance does not intend to mislead but is simply unaware of the current facts.
  • Misrepresentation involves providing a false or distorted account of something, which can be intentional or unintentional. For example, exaggerating the benefits of a product in advertising misrepresents its true capabilities. Misrepresentation can overlap with lying and misleading but specifically pertains to the distortion or alteration of the facts or characteristics of something.
  • Propaganda is another related concept, involving biased or misleading information used to promote a political cause or point of view. While similar to disinformation, propaganda is often associated with ideological persuasion and is usually disseminated by institutions or governments to influence public perception and behavior.
  • Half-truths are statements that include some element of truth but omit critical information that would lead to a fuller and more accurate understanding. Half-truths can be just as deceptive as outright lies by only telling part of the story. For example, stating that a study found a certain drug effective without mentioning the significant side effects is a half-truth.
  • Spin involves presenting information in a biased or slanted way to favor a particular viewpoint. It often includes emphasizing certain facts while downplaying others to shape public perception. Political spokespeople and public relations professionals frequently use spin to present their clients in the best possible light.
  • Obfuscation involves making something unclear or difficult to understand, often deliberately, to hide the truth. This can be achieved through complex language, ambiguous statements, or overwhelming amounts of information, making it hard for the audience to discern the reality.
  • Gaslighting is a form of psychological manipulation where a person or group causes someone to doubt their own reality, perception, or sanity. This can involve the perpetrator denying or distorting facts, experiences, or memories to make the victim question their own thoughts and feelings.

It’s important to understand these above distinctions are vital for critically evaluating information in our complex communication landscape. It’s fair to say that no particular source has all the right information. Yet, we can’t give up on the fact that there are actually true facts.

I’ll be traveling again soon explaining to auctioneers, attorneys, courts, and judges various truths in the auction industry in light of an immense amount of false information on the Internet that is completely or largely untrue.

As we wrote some time ago, looking for affirmation rather than information feeds on false information, possibly encouraging those purveyors of false information to produce even more. https://mikebrandlyauctioneer.wordpress.com/2019/09/05/auctioneers-information-versus-affirmation/.

When you are sharing memes, videos, pictures or thoughts maybe consider that your information has been falsely created or altered — possibly with AI or other software — misrepresenting or concealing actual facts. It’s not a good look for any auctioneer sharing nonsense.

Mike Brandly, Auctioneer, CAI, CAS, AARE has been an auctioneer and certified appraiser for over 30 years. His company’s auctions are located at Mike Brandly, Auctioneer, Brandly Real Estate & Auction, and formally at Goodwill Columbus Car Auction. He serves as Distinguished Faculty at Hondros College, Executive Director of The Ohio Auction School, and an Instructor at the National Auctioneers Association’s Designation Academy and Western College of Auctioneering. He has served as faculty at the Certified Auctioneers Institute held at Indiana University and is approved by The Supreme Court of Ohio for attorney education.