====== Executive Summary ======

===== Complex Information and Fake News =====

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==== Why protecting truth requires an expanded concept of information ====


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==== The current challenge ====

The spread of fake news has become one of the central threats to democratic societies and public trust.

The dominant response has been technical and regulatory:

→ more fact-checking → more verification → more automated moderation

While necessary, these measures address only part of the problem.


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==== The underlying problem ====

Classical information systems operate with a reduced concept of truth:

  * facts are either true or false
  * statements are evaluated primarily by formal verifiability

Human communication, however, does not function on facts alone. Meaning, emotion, context, and experience play a decisive role.

When systems recognize only machine-verifiable truth, two effects occur:

  * emotionally charged meaning is displaced into informal channels
  * distrust toward “official” truths increases

This environment is fertile ground for fake news.


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==== What fake news actually are ====

Fake news are not primarily false facts.

They are **statements in which emotional meaning is presented as objective truth**, while the factual component is hidden, distorted, or absent.

The core issue is **opacity**, not emotionality.


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==== Complex information as a structural solution ====

Complex information distinguishes between two components of every statement:

  * a **real component**: verifiable facts
  * an **imaginary component**: meaning, interpretation, emotion, belief

Both components are legitimate, but they must be **explicitly separated**.

This separation allows:

  * emotions without deception
  * interpretation without falsification
  * belief without masquerading as fact


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==== Why this protects truth ====

By making the imaginary component visible rather than suppressing it:

  * facts regain clarity
  * interpretation becomes accountable
  * trust becomes more stable

Truth is not relativized. It is **structurally reinforced**.


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==== Strategic implications ====

Information systems that ignore the imaginary component risk:

  * increasing polarization
  * loss of institutional credibility
  * escalating cycles of misinformation

Systems based on complex information enable:

  * transparent communication
  * resilient public discourse
  * long-term trust in information infrastructures


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==== Conclusion ====

Fake news do not arise because humans are emotional. They arise because information systems lack a formal place for emotion and meaning.

**Protecting truth requires more than verification. It requires an expanded concept of information.**


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==== Your Support ====

{{:projects:infolab:new_human_info:new-human-it.png?400|}}

These stickers are a visible sign of support for broadening the concept of information and can be affixed to IT equipment.