In a shift from persuasion to epistemic disruption, misinformation operates not only to mislead but also to strategically erode shared standards of truth, fostering epistemic uncertainty and distrust, with implications for democratic governance.
Social media has played a transformative role; algorithmic amplification, influencer dynamics, and participatory content creation within the attention economy have changed how information circulates, enabling the collective construction of alternative realities.
Generative AI has served as an amplifier and mitigator, accelerating the production and personalisation of misleading content while also providing tools for detection and adaptive countermeasures.
Addressing misinformation requires integrative frameworks that bridge cognitive, social, technological, and institutional perspectives to capture its systemic and epistemological impacts.
Abstract
Misinformation influences cognition—shaping memory, beliefs, attitudes, reasoning, and decision-making. While intentionally disseminated misinformation (i.e., disinformation) has long served persuasive functions, its strategic use to generate epistemic uncertainty has grown in prominence. Such strategic manipulation by incentivised actors serves to construct ‘alternative realities’ that undermine shared truth and institutional trust. This review analyses recent evidence on the direct cognitive and behavioural impacts of misinformation, examines the transformative roles of social media and generative AI, and considers broader epistemological consequences, including the erosion of truth norms and implications for democratic discourse. Addressing these challenges requires coordinated individual and systemic interventions that integrate psychological, technological, educational, and regulatory approaches to strengthen epistemic resilience and safeguard evidence-informed public reasoning and decision-making.