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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face="Lucida Sans Unicode"><span lang=EN-GB
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Lucida Sans Unicode"'>Dear Friends and
Colleagues,<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face="Lucida Sans Unicode"><span lang=EN-GB
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Lucida Sans Unicode"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><font size=2
face="Lucida Sans Unicode"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
"Lucida Sans Unicode"'>For people interested in information, the New Year
Lecture on disinformation and its discussion has taken place against an
unbelievable background. It is nightmarish, <i><span style='font-style:italic'>ubu-esque</span></i>,
Orwellian. Literally, the United States Minister of Health stated last week
that a woman’s <i><span style='font-style:italic'>freedom</span></i> to
have an abortion was <i><span style='font-style:italic'>slavery</span></i>. War
is peace. The greatest short-term menace to humanity is coming from entities
that consist essentially of information plus a few bits of protein and RNA. The
not-so-long term menace is global warming whose existence is considered
disinformation by some people, themselves heavily involved in disinformation. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><font size=2
face="Lucida Sans Unicode"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
"Lucida Sans Unicode"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><font size=2
face="Lucida Sans Unicode"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
"Lucida Sans Unicode"'>In spite of everything, I think the key issues came out well:<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><font size=2
face="Lucida Sans Unicode"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
"Lucida Sans Unicode"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><font size=2
face="Lucida Sans Unicode"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
"Lucida Sans Unicode"'>1. Disinformation and Misinformation. Intent<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:35.4pt'><font size=2
face="Lucida Sans Unicode"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
"Lucida Sans Unicode"'>There was general agreement on the fact of the existence
of disinformation and of misinformation as distinct from it. Disinformation is
characterized by the anti-social intent of the disinformer, although questions
remain about the detailed structure of intent as an operator.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><font size=2
face="Lucida Sans Unicode"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
"Lucida Sans Unicode"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><font size=2
face="Lucida Sans Unicode"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
"Lucida Sans Unicode"'>2. Countering Disinformation<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><font size=2
face="Lucida Sans Unicode"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
"Lucida Sans Unicode"'> Faced
with the pernicious phenomenon of disinformation, there was a substantial
consensus that ‘something should be done about it’. The need for
tools, perhaps at first computational ones, to identify disinformation in documents
was mentioned by several contributors. Others suggested the inherent
limitations of solely computational approaches and the need to find and authenticate
other criteria or ‘markers’ to identify disinformation. I think
there should be a working group on disinformation, based on the willingness of FIS
members to commit time to it. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><font size=2
face="Lucida Sans Unicode"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
"Lucida Sans Unicode"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><font size=2
face="Lucida Sans Unicode"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
"Lucida Sans Unicode"'>3. The FIS Group (1)<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><font size=2
face="Lucida Sans Unicode"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
"Lucida Sans Unicode"'> I
found a certain confusion between different perspectives. Considering the
diversity of our group, this is not surprising. There has not been a consensus
about what information and information science are. I noted here a lack of
consensus about what <i><span style='font-style:italic'>foundations</span></i>
or foundational principles are or should be. The result was that many valid
insights were stated in the form of examples and anecdotal cases, rather than
as structures or principles. The, for me, basic principle that information is a
process, an ‘informing’ rather than a datum or data received little
attention. It should also be obvious that this Lecture could not cover all
related aspects of communication and <i><span style='font-style:italic'>behavioral</span></i>
science. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><font size=3
face="Lucida Sans Unicode"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
"Lucida Sans Unicode"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><font size=2
face="Lucida Sans Unicode"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
"Lucida Sans Unicode"'>4. The FIS Group (2)<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:35.4pt'><font size=2
face="Lucida Sans Unicode"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
"Lucida Sans Unicode"'>The above notwithstanding, I feel that many fascinating
concepts related to information/disinformation, just touched upon here, are
well worth further development; the following list is completely open for
additions, including significant points I may have missed. The order is not
significant:<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:35.4pt'><font size=2
face="Lucida Sans Unicode"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
"Lucida Sans Unicode"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:53.4pt;text-align:justify;text-indent:
-18.0pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><font size=2
face="Lucida Sans Unicode"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
"Lucida Sans Unicode"'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>-<font size=1
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>
</span></font></span></span></font><![endif]><font size=2
face="Lucida Sans Unicode"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
"Lucida Sans Unicode"'>grounding of disinformation in cognitive structures/the
genome ;<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:53.4pt;text-align:justify;text-indent:
-18.0pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><font size=3
face="Lucida Sans Unicode"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
"Lucida Sans Unicode"'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>-<font size=1
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>
</span></font></span></span></font><![endif]><font size=2
face="Lucida Sans Unicode"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
"Lucida Sans Unicode"'>hypocrisy and other recursive disinformation processes</span></font><font
face="Lucida Sans Unicode"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-family:"Lucida Sans Unicode"'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:53.4pt;text-align:justify;text-indent:
-18.0pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><font size=3
face="Lucida Sans Unicode"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
"Lucida Sans Unicode"'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>-<font size=1
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>
</span></font></span></span></font><![endif]><font size=2
face="Lucida Sans Unicode"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
"Lucida Sans Unicode"'>public origins of disinformation</span></font><font
face="Lucida Sans Unicode"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-family:"Lucida Sans Unicode"'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:53.4pt;text-align:justify;text-indent:
-18.0pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><font size=3
face="Lucida Sans Unicode"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
"Lucida Sans Unicode"'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>-<font size=1
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>
</span></font></span></span></font><![endif]><font size=2
face="Lucida Sans Unicode"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
"Lucida Sans Unicode"'>the universe of discourse in informational terms</span></font><font
face="Lucida Sans Unicode"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-family:"Lucida Sans Unicode"'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:53.4pt;text-align:justify;text-indent:
-18.0pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><font size=3
face="Lucida Sans Unicode"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
"Lucida Sans Unicode"'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>-<font size=1
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>
</span></font></span></span></font><![endif]><font size=2
face="Lucida Sans Unicode"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
"Lucida Sans Unicode"'>art and its informational content</span></font><font
face="Lucida Sans Unicode"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-family:"Lucida Sans Unicode"'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><font size=2
face="Lucida Sans Unicode"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
"Lucida Sans Unicode"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><font size=2
face="Lucida Sans Unicode"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
"Lucida Sans Unicode"'>Thank you. It was a pleasure working with you.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><font size=2
face="Lucida Sans Unicode"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
"Lucida Sans Unicode"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><font size=2
face="Lucida Sans Unicode"><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
"Lucida Sans Unicode"'>Joseph</span></font><font face="Lucida Sans Unicode"><span
lang=EN-GB style='font-family:"Lucida Sans Unicode"'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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