AI-driven Disinformation: A Framework for Organizational Preparation and Response

Elise Karinshak (undergraduate alum) and Yan Jin. (Forthcoming). "AI-driven Disinformation: A Framework for Organizational Preparation and Response".  Journal of Communication Management.

Abstract: Disinformation, false information designed with the intention to mislead, can significantly damage organizational operation and reputation, interfering with communication and relationship management in a wide breadth of risk and crisis contexts. This research illustrates that future disinformation response efforts will not be able to rely solely on detection strategies, as AI-created content quality becomes more and more convincing (and ultimately, indistinguishable), and that future disinformation management efforts will need to rely on content influence rather than volume (due to emerging capabilities for automated production of disinformation). Built upon these fundamental, literature-driven characteristics, the framework provides organizations actor-level and content-level perspectives for influence and discusses their implications for disinformation management. The proposed framework provides a theory-driven, practical approach for effective, proactive disinformation management systems with the capacity and agility to detect risks and mitigate crises driven by evolving AI technologies. Subsequent research can build upon this framework as AI technologies are deployed in disinformation campaigns, and practitioners can leverage this framework in the development of counter-disinformation efforts.