Some of the top journalists covering misinformation today look less like reporters and more like cyber investigators, combining new technologies with old-school journalism principles to outsmart the trolls working to undermine them ahead of the 2020 election.
Why it matters: The troll playbook has shifted since the last election, when fringe internet actors sought to sow discord by spreading divisive messages. Today, their main focus is to discredit the news media, often by uncovering potentially harmful information about journalists or by tricking them into reporting false information.
Driving the news: New research from Data & Society by researchers Joan Donovan and Brian Friedberg lays out 4 ways that internet trolls aim to “source hack” reporters, or conceal the real sources of misinformation in order for it to go viral.
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Source: The troll playbook has shifted since last election and reporters are on to it – Axios