Many report that disinformation campaigns affect not only the targeted groups but also have a ripple effect on others as well. Particularly, the elderly in society. There is a fear that the disinformation will become more normalized, especially if no one tries to counteract these claims. The disinformation can also amplify already established prejudices in society. While others strive to speak out and engage in heated arguments, many others are forced to convert and comply with the stereotypes. People are taught to "lay low" to avoid any further conflicts. There is a sense of helplessness in the community as fighting does not seem like an option but staying silent arises anxiety. 

Self-Reported Impact of Disinformation Campaigns on Indonesia Minorities 

Disinformation campaigns can alter patterns such as voting behavior of individuals, as these campaigns activate culturally-fluent identity based reasoning. This new identity that is formed can carry over to future judgements because once the identity is "activated", any associated actions and values will also be activated. 

Saint Louis University

Campaigns that paint a certain course of action as being specific to one’s identity. These campaigns emphasize that not taking that certain action threatens one’s identity itself.

Disinformation Campaigns

Oyserman, D., & Dawson, A. (2020). Your fake news, our facts: Identity-based motivation shapes what we believe, share, and accept. In R. Greifeneder, M. Jaffé, E. J. New- man, & N. Schwarz (Eds.), The psychology of fake news: Accepting, sharing, and correcting misinformation (pp. 173–195). London: Routledge. 

Your fake news, our facts: Identity-based motivation shapes what we believe, share, and accept

During the 2016 British referendum on whether to secede from or stay in the EU, a digital firm called Aggregate IQ was hired to generate content pieces for Facebook users in order to create an identity-based call to action to “vote leave.”

Brexit Campaign

Long-Term Effects of Disinformation

- Election Campaigns 
- COVID-19 and Vaccine Campaigns 
- Religious Campaigns 
- LGBTQIA+ Campaigns 


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