Non-human animals and even bacteria are prone to spread misinformation

[In 2025], the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine issued a warning about the dangers of misinformation. Social media platforms are now rife with scientific falsehoods — that the Earth is flat, that climate change is a hoax, and so on. Misinformation can lead to large-scale harm, undermining public health and the well-being of the planet, the authors of the National Academies report said.

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For some fresh inspiration, misinformation experts can look beyond our species. That’s the advice from a team of Cornell researchers writing … in the journal Interface. It’s not just humans who suffer from the effects of misinformation. So do fish, flies and even bacteria.

… Dr. [Andrew] Hein and his colleagues developed mathematical models for investigating misinformation in any species. Researchers can use them to estimate the accuracy of an organism’s beliefs and the extent to which information from other organisms changes their beliefs.

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Exploring these models, Dr. Hein and his colleagues came to the conclusion that misinformation is probably fundamental to all communication systems in the natural world. And it’s a potent threat to their survival.

This is an excerpt. Read the original post here