Blurred Disinformation in Digital Journalism: A Typology of Subtle Deceptive Practices on Social Media

Disinformation has become a pressing concern for democratic societies and a central topic in journalism studies. While much research has focused on the spread of false information on social media by non-institutional actors, less attention has been paid to the deceptive practices of digital news media. This study addresses that gap by introducing the concept of blurred disinformation—a set of strategically ambiguous practices through which digital news media mislead audiences without resorting to explicit falsehoods. These practices often appear in headlines, images, or editorial framing and are particularly concerning due to their subtlety and persuasive power. Based on a semi-systematic literature review and exploratory non-participant observation of digital news content, this study proposes a typology of six forms of media disinformation: fabricated content, implicit disinformation, information omission, contextual visual disinformation, misleading framing, and systematic ideological manipulation. The study suggests that the responsibility for disinformation must also be examined from within the media system itself, in a context where weakened platform oversight has increased public vulnerability to deceptive content.