Misinformation Named Top Global Risk for Second Year as Cities Face Growing Threats

Mis- and disinformation have been named the top global risk in the immediate term for the second consecutive year in the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2025, highlighting the persistent danger posed by false information in communities worldwide.

The announcement comes just days after Meta revealed it would end third-party fact-checking functions on its social media platforms, a move likely to concern disinformation experts and policymakers already grappling with the issue’s widespread impact.

One year ago, WEF first spotlighted the pervasive nature of mis- and disinformation, ranking it as the most significant global risk for the next two years. The repeated designation underscores how this threat continues to evolve and disrupt societies globally.

According to the Australian Electoral Commission, disinformation refers to “knowingly false information designed to deliberately mislead and influence public opinion or obscure the truth for malicious or deceptive purposes.” It frequently accompanies misinformation, which spreads false content without intentional deception, typically due to errors or ignorance.

The consequences of this phenomenon have been particularly acute in urban areas throughout 2024, with cities increasingly becoming battlegrounds where false narratives take hold and cause real harm.

“Disinformation is deeply insidious, destructive and rapidly evolving. And cities are increasingly in the firing line,” notes the report, which documents a troubling pattern of incidents across global cities.

A Year of Deception: 2024’s Timeline of Disinformation

January marked the beginning of what analysts called the “global election year,” with the World Economic Forum issuing its first warning about mis- and disinformation as the world’s foremost immediate threat.

By February, a measles outbreak in Broward County, Florida was linked to persistent anti-vaccine misinformation, a situation made worse by statements from the state’s Surgeon General that appeared to undermine vaccine confidence.

March saw disinformation flourish following a terrorist attack in Moscow that killed over one hundred people. False narratives included fabricated footage purporting to show Russian military rehearsing the attack and unsubstantiated accusations of Ukrainian involvement.

In April, Baltimore, Maryland confronted a crisis when a deepfake recording of a school principal containing racist content divided the community, prompting police to confirm the audio was fabricated.

Climate disinformation surfaced in May, particularly surrounding London’s Ultra-Low Emissions Zone policy, which was weaponized to interfere with the city’s mayoral election.

June revealed a disturbing manifestation of gendered disinformation when pornographic deepfakes of schoolgirls were mass-created in Bacchus Marsh, Victoria, Australia, highlighting technology’s role in targeted harassment.

Anti-immigrant riots swept through cities across England in July, fueled by disinformation following the murder of children at a dance class in Southport. The violence demonstrated how false information can rapidly transform into physical danger.

In August, postal workers in Wellington, New Zealand made headlines by refusing to deliver 80,000 pamphlets containing anti-Muslim disinformation about the City Council, citing concerns about community safety and potential violence.

September’s hurricanes Helene and Milton in the United States were accompanied by disaster disinformation that hampered emergency responses. False claims included allegations that the storms were artificially created, that aid was being withheld from Republican voters, and that evacuating would result in government land seizures.

October saw local government elections in Australia’s City of La Trobe marred by fake social media accounts targeting candidates. That same month, a Carnegie California report found that “Californians overwhelmingly believe that the spread of misinformation is a threat to their state.”

Devastating floods in Valencia, Spain in November prompted conspiracy theories claiming the Spanish government had engineered the weather system or deliberately failed to warn residents. Some narratives even accused Morocco of responsibility.

The year concluded with December’s firebombing of a synagogue in Melbourne, Australia, which triggered rapid circulation of false claims on social media, variously blaming far-left groups or suggesting Israeli intelligence agency involvement.

Academic Response and Collaborative Solutions

In response to these challenges, significant cross-sector collaboration emerged throughout 2024. The University of Melbourne, working with international partners, delivered the first global Playbook to guide city responses to disinformation, developed in partnership with the German Marshall Fund of the United States and co-created with 40 multi-sector experts.

The “Recognising and Managing Disinformation” micro-credential program was also established through collaboration between the Hunt Lab for Security and Intelligence, the Melbourne Centre for Cities, and the Municipal Association of Victoria.

These initiatives have informed discussions at multiple governance levels, from city councils to national governments and international organizations including the G7 and UN-HABITAT.

“Each of these demonstrates the powerful role that universities and researchers can play in bringing together and bridging knowledge to inform solutions to society’s most pressing challenges,” the report states.

The Disinformation in the City project will continue to expand in 2025 with support from the Municipal Association of Victoria and the Institute for Infrastructure in Society at the Australian National University’s Crawford School for Public Policy.

As WEF’s latest assessment confirms, disinformation threats will persist into the foreseeable future, with impacts felt most acutely at the local level. The development of robust local response strategies remains critical to addressing this evolving global challenge.