I opened "information disorder" session today at #IGF2018 @intgovforum @igf2018paris, and was asked to provide quick overview of some key research findings.
Key points: we need conceptual clarity, more research outside US, and collaborative responses
Links in thread below 1/9
Key points: we need conceptual clarity, more research outside US, and collaborative responses
Links in thread below 1/9
Conceptual clarity. As @cward1e and @h0d3r report "Information disorder: Toward an interdisciplinary framework for research and policy making" points out, term "f*ke news" is woefully inadequate and harmful. (Disappointing #igf2018 uses it so widely) edoc.coe.int/en/media/7495-… 2/9
We need more research outside US: Online disinfo relies on techs that are also used for legitimate purposes world-wide (e.g. #metoo), dynamics and impact will differ in different places depending on media+political+social context-see e.g @BBCWorld work bbc.com/news/world-461… 3/9
Keeping in mind the caveat that findings from the US do not necessarily apply directly in other countries, what do we know?
a) @andyguess @JasonReifler and @BrendanNyhan found limited reach+exposure for most (but not all) misinfo in 2016 US election dartmouth.edu/~nyhan/fake-ne… 4/9
a) @andyguess @JasonReifler and @BrendanNyhan found limited reach+exposure for most (but not all) misinfo in 2016 US election dartmouth.edu/~nyhan/fake-ne… 4/9
but
b) clearly issues, enabled in part by digital+social media,& animated in assymettrical ways w/distance between left and center audiences vs tendencies towards highly partisan and more insular politics-media nexus on right,as @ybenkler et al shows cyber.harvard.edu/publications/2… 5/9
b) clearly issues, enabled in part by digital+social media,& animated in assymettrical ways w/distance between left and center audiences vs tendencies towards highly partisan and more insular politics-media nexus on right,as @ybenkler et al shows cyber.harvard.edu/publications/2… 5/9
and
c) these issues are far from exclusively about digital+social media (or foreign info operations), as some domestic politicians & some media play key role. As @dragz has shown, people who prefer offline media in the US are actually MORE concerned digitalnewsreport.org/survey/2018/mi… 6/9
c) these issues are far from exclusively about digital+social media (or foreign info operations), as some domestic politicians & some media play key role. As @dragz has shown, people who prefer offline media in the US are actually MORE concerned digitalnewsreport.org/survey/2018/mi… 6/9
finally,
d) as @gravesmatter and I have shown, context of disinfo problems in US is situation of low trust in politicians, news orgs, and often digital media, where ordinary people see all these actors as part of problem of "f*ke news" as they see it reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/… 7/9
d) as @gravesmatter and I have shown, context of disinfo problems in US is situation of low trust in politicians, news orgs, and often digital media, where ordinary people see all these actors as part of problem of "f*ke news" as they see it reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/… 7/9
So given that the problems are many, complex, involve many different actors, and are seen by the public as being about poor journalism and politics as much as about tech companies and fabricated content, collaborative responses seems most likely to help us respond effectively 8/9
I'm glad to see inspiring examples of that, including coalitions orchestrated by @firstdraftnews, collaborations in Sweden between media, tech companies, and public authorities, and @EU_Commission insistence on collaborative approach (followed by evaluation of effectiveness) 9/9
