The Billion-Dollar Lie: Inside the Global Disinformation Market

By Rebecca Nanono | Shetechtive Uganda

A Marketplace Built on Misinformation

Disinformation is no longer just a political weapon or an online nuisance. It is a booming global industry. From troll farms to clickbait factories, from deepfake software to data-driven propaganda, disinformation has evolved into a multi-billion-dollar market that shapes elections, polarizes societies, and undermines public trust in truth itself.

A 2023 study by University of Baltimore estimated that the global economic cost of disinformation exceeds $78 billion per year, including losses from stock manipulation, reputational damage, and public health misinformation. Behind this staggering figure lies a thriving ecosystem of digital mercenaries, content farms, and algorithmic amplifiers profiting from deceit.

The Business Model of Deceit

The disinformation market thrives because attention equals profit. Every click, view, and share, no matter how false, translates into advertising revenue. Tech platforms designed to maximize engagement have become fertile ground for lies to flourish.

Here’s how the cycle works:

1. Manipulation factories (often based in low-regulation digital economies) churn out fake news and divisive narratives.
2. Social media algorithms, tuned to prioritize engagement over accuracy, amplify emotionally charged content.
3. Advertisers unwittingly fund these networks through automated ad placements.
4. Audiences, caught in echo chambers, amplify the falsehoods, creating feedback loops that fuel further monetization.

The result? A self-sustaining disinformation economy where outrage sells better than facts, and where truth has to compete with viral lies for visibility.

 

The AI Acceleration

Artificial Intelligence has supercharged this industry. Tools that can generate text, voice, or video in seconds are being weaponized to create deepfakes, synthetic personas, and automated propaganda.
A report by Graphika and Stanford Internet Observatory revealed a growing “influence-as-a-service” sector, where AI-generated disinformation campaigns can be purchased for as little as $300 per month.

From fake environmental movements to counterfeit feminist pages, AI has blurred the line between real and fabricated advocacy. The danger is not just in false informatio, it is in the erosion of trust. When everything looks fake, people stop believing anything.

The Feminist Cost of Disinformation

Women, especially activists, journalists, and political leaders, bear a disproportionate burden of digital disinformation. Gendered disinformation campaigns weaponize stereotypes, sexualized images, and fabricated stories to silence women’s voices online.

In Uganda, for instance, female human rights defenders have reported being targeted through fake news posts and manipulated photos designed to damage credibility. This is not random, it is a strategic silencing mechanism.

When disinformation intersects with patriarchy, it becomes a tool of digital gender-based violence, reinforcing social norms that punish women for being visible and vocal in public spaces.

That is why Shetechtive approaches digital literacy and online safety as feminist issues, not just technical ones. Combating disinformation means protecting women’s rights, mental well-being, and participation in digital democracy.

Why the Market Thrives

Several factors below fuel this billion-dollar disinformation market.

• Weak regulation of online political advertising and platform accountability.
• Data exploitation that allows precise targeting of emotions and fears.
• Economic incentives for engagement rather than accuracy.
• Digital illiteracy, especially in low- and middle-income countries where fact-checking resources are limited.
• Global inequality in content moderation. English-language misinformation is addressed faster than that in African languages.

Together, these create an environment where misinformation not only spreads, but pays.

 

Disrupting the Disinformation Economy

The solution is not censorship. It is rebuilding the digital ecosystem around truth, care, and accountability.
Here is what that looks like.

1. Feminist Digital Literacy. Teaching communities, especially young women to critically evaluate online content and identify manipulative narratives.
2. Transparency in Tech. Advocating for algorithmic accountability and ethical AI practices that prioritize human rights over engagement metrics.
3. Economic Reform. Pressuring advertisers and platforms to defund disinformation networks and redirect funds to credible journalism and community media.
4. Mental Health Awareness. Recognizing that exposure to disinformation and online hate causes real emotional harm, and integrating psychosocial support into digital rights work.
5. Cross-Movement Collaboration. Partnering with climate, gender, and digital activists to expose and disrupt coordinated disinformation campaigns.

 

Toward a Truth-Centered Internet

Disinformation is not just a threat to democracy. It is a threat to our shared reality. When the truth becomes optional, justice, equality, and human connection crumble with it.

The same digital tools that spread lies can also build resilience and resistance. By centering empathy, education, and ethics in technology design, we can dismantle the economics of deceit and reimagine an internet rooted in care and collective truth.

At Shetechtive, we believe this is not only possible but it is necessary for the survival of a free, inclusive, and feminist digital world.