DISINFORMATION SOUNDS LIKE A THERAPEUTIC STORY – AND THAT’S WHY IT’S WORKING

This past year has shown that the sanitary risks of SARS-CoV-2 virus pandemic are equally matched, if not exceeded on long run, by infodemia effects. Disinformation, fake-news are widely considered an existential threat to open, democratic societies, straining the limits of institutions to cope with socio-political tensions. As such, acknowledging the significance of this phenomenon, this paper address the phenomenon of disinformation, challenging the prevalent current paradigm based on cognitive, linguistic approach, by offering a new perspective grounded on the role of fictional stories for individual and collective sense making. We advance a new interpretation upon the mechanisms behind disinformation consumption using the role of an immature ego structure, thus explaining the demanding side of disinformation. The utility of this new interpretation ranges from the reconsideration of mental irrationality in sense-making, or proposal of new tools for recognizing those predispose to consume disinformation, to a more comprehensive approach to strategic communication.