Disinformation Isn't Just a Tech Problem. It's a Social One, Too.

[iemanja]

Mis- and disinformation are often viewed as a cause of society’s ills. But a new report from the Aspen Institute’s Commission on Information Disorder, which studied the global “crisis of trust and truth,” offers a different perspective on how to think about the proliferation of conspiracy theories and bogus info: The rise of disinformation is the product of longstanding social problems, including income inequality, racism, and corruption, which can be easily exploited to spread false information online.

“Saying that the disinformation is the problem—rather than a way in which the underlying problem shows itself—misses the point entirely,” the report quotes Mike Masnick, founder of Techdirt, as saying.

Disinformation, as the report’s authors explain, comes from “corporate, state actor, and political persuasion techniques employed to maintain power and profit, create harm, and/or advance political or ideological goals” and can exacerbate “long-standing inequalities and undermines lived experiences for historically targeted communities, particularly Black/African American communities.” Disinformation is a nascent and fast-moving field of study and Aspen’s report, released Monday, offers a point of view that departs from the conventional wisdom that information problems stem largely from tech and social media platforms.

The Aspen commission, which was co-chaired by Katie Couric, Color of Change president Rashad Robinson, and former director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Chris Krebs, spent six months examining the causes of and solutions to disinformation. Members of the commission included Joan Donovan, research director at Harvard Kennedy School’s Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy; Nathaniel Gleicher, head of Cybersecurity at Meta (formerly Facebook), and Evelyn Douek, a lecturer at Harvard Law School.

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2021/11/disinformation-isnt-just-a-tech-problem-its-a-social-one-too/?utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=naytev&utm_medium=social&fbclid=IwAR3o_5V5SVNSFK8Uss8ZFV_3PNLSEzccnPu_VmGWWyOPWIjR71Ckgmj-AM4

Misinformation points to deeper rifts in American society and therefore, according to the article, cannot be completely eradicated. See the full text for recommendations for combating it.

[AllaN01Bear]

1. heard lots of disinfo during my young man days and my youth via

the grape vine . its always been their . called the rumor mill.

[iemanja]

3. Though it's much worse now

and has gone almost mainstream.

[Jim__]

2. Sounds like an interesting report. Thanks for posting.

It will take some time to read the whole report, it should be worth the time.