Disinformation and ‘Conflict Entrepreneurs’ Flourish in Modern Attention Economy

In an era where digital information flows freely, American consumers are facing growing challenges distinguishing between fact and opinion, according to recent findings from Ipsos’ Consumer Tracker survey. The biweekly tracker, which has monitored consumer attitudes since April 2020, reveals concerning trends about media perception and information reliability in today’s fragmented media landscape.

The latest data shows that 62% of Americans express confidence in their ability to differentiate news content from opinion—a statistic that behavioral scientists find troubling. Experts point out that this apparent confidence may actually represent overconfidence rather than the healthy skepticism needed in today’s complex information environment.

Perhaps more revealing is that 52% of Americans believe all media contains bias, a sentiment that has remained relatively consistent since Ipsos’ 2020 “What the Future: Truth” survey. This widespread perception of media bias may explain why Americans appear less concerned about disinformation compared to their global counterparts.

The findings come at a time when 82% of Americans identify the spread of disinformation to influence public opinion as a top global threat, according to a separate Ipsos poll conducted for the Halifax Security Forum. This concern is shared across borders, with more than three-quarters of people surveyed in 20 countries expressing similar views.

One potentially positive development is that American perceptions of news organizations’ ability to remain truthful even when taking sides has improved, rising to 54% from 45% in the earlier Truth survey. However, this modest improvement exists within a broader context of declining trust in information sources.

Journalist and author Amanda Ripley, interviewed as part of the research, highlights the emerging role of what she terms “conflict entrepreneurs”—individuals who deliberately inflame polarization for profit, attention, or influence. These actors thrive in uncontrolled, low-trust digital spaces, crafting high-conflict narratives that can rapidly derail brand messaging and public discourse.

For businesses navigating this challenging landscape, the threat extends beyond consumer markets to business-to-business environments. Companies increasingly find themselves involuntarily drawn into conflicts or associated with misinformation, particularly when targeted by conflict entrepreneurs who can cause brand messages to spiral beyond control.

Industry analysts suggest that information and truth represent the strongest defenses against these unchecked narratives. To build resilience, companies are advised to implement trust-focused research strategies that identify the specific drivers of trust in their sectors, monitor media message impact, track how language models portray their brands, and identify sources of misinformation.

The research also recommends that businesses proactively identify potential conflict entrepreneurs in their space and develop strategies to “starve them of fuel for conflict” rather than engaging directly or attempting to convince them of alternative perspectives.

By understanding the foundations of consumer trust and how customers connect with their brands, companies can build greater resilience not only against deliberate attacks from conflict entrepreneurs but also against unintentional misinformation that threatens reputation and market position.

As content creators compete ever more intensely for consumer attention, the environment has become fertile ground for hyperbole and misinformation. For brands that no longer fully control their messaging or the ecosystem in which they exist, developing strategic insights into information credibility and source reliability has become a business imperative rather than just a public relations concern.