Truth or lies?
是真是假？
How disinformation works—and how to counter it
假消息如何运作——以及该如何对抗它
More co-ordination is needed, and better access to data
需要更多协作、更好地获取数据
DID YOU know that the wildfires which ravaged Hawaii last summer were started by a secret “weather weapon” being tested by America’s armed forces, and that American NGOs were spreading dengue fever in Africa? That Olena Zelenska, Ukraine’s first lady, went on a $1.1m shopping spree on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue? Or that Narendra Modi, India’s prime minister, has been endorsed in a new song by Mahendra Kapoor, an Indian singer who died in 2008?
你知道去年夏天肆虐夏威夷的野火是由美国军队正在测试的一种秘密“气象武器”引发的吗？你知道美国的多家非政府组织在非洲传播登革热吗？你知道乌克兰第一夫人奥莱娜·泽连斯基（Olena Zelenska）在曼哈顿第五大道疯狂购物、豪掷110万美元吗？还有，你知道2008年去世的印度歌手马亨德拉·卡普尔（Mahendra Kapoor）在一首新歌中为印度总理莫迪站台吗？
- ravage 表示“损坏、毁坏、蹂躏、劫掠”或“使荒芜”，强调暴力的严重破坏或彻底毁灭，多指由掠夺、入侵、袭击、风暴或洪水等造成的累计破坏，常用被动语态（参见：小词详解 | ravage）
- dengue 登革热（由蚊子传播的热带疾病，症状为发烧和关节剧痛）
- endorse （公开）赞同、支持、认可
These stories are, of course, all bogus. They are examples of disinformation: falsehoods that are intended to deceive. Such tall tales are being spread around the world by increasingly sophisticated campaigns. Whizzy artificial-intelligence (AI) tools and intricate networks of social-media accounts are being used to make and share eerily convincing photos, video and audio, confusing fact with fiction. In a year when half the world is holding elections, this is fuelling fears that technology will make disinformation impossible to fight, fatally undermining democracy. How worried should you be?
当然，这些都是造谣。它们是典型的虚假信息：为蒙蔽人们而编造的谎言。这样的荒诞故事通过日益复杂精妙的造谣活动在全世界传播。先进的人工智能（AI）工具和错综复杂的社交媒体账户网络正在被用来制作和传播极其逼真的照片、视频和音频，让人真假难辨。今年，全球一半的国家都在举行选举，这加剧了一些人担忧技术将使得人们无力抵抗虚假信息，从而对民主造成致命破坏。对此，你该有多担忧？
- bogus 作形容词表示“假的、假冒的、冒牌的、伪造的”，适用于形容任何可能假冒他人或试图欺骗他人的事物或行为（参见：小词详解 | bogus）
- tall tale 诞不经的故事、奇闻怪事
- intricate 表示“错综复杂的、盘根错节的、复杂精细的”，多指事物的各部分交织在一起，令人困惑，几乎不可能单独理解或掌握（参见：小词详解 | intricate）
- eerie 怪异的、神秘的、恐怖的
