The Disinformation Playbook
How Business Interests Deceive, Misinform, and Buy Influence at the Expense of Public Health and Safety
The Disinformation Playbook is a critical examination of the strategies employed by business interests to influence public opinion and policy at the expense of public health and safety. Published by the Union of Concerned Scientists on October 10, 2017, the playbook outlines five main tactics used to sideline science, deceive the public, and buy influence. These tactics include the deliberate spreading of misinformation, undermining scientific consensus, and manipulating research outcomes to favor corporate interests over public well-being.
Misinformation, as defined, involves providing incorrect or misleading information to individuals, which can lead to widespread public misunderstanding on important issues. The playbook further highlights how industry manipulates scientific findings and undermines health-protective public policy by bending science to fit commercial interests. This manipulation of information not only targets the public but also aims at every step of the policymaking process, particularly undermining the science on which health-based government decisions depend upon.