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News on Consequences of Exposure
Since the 2016 US presidential election, the deliberate spread of misinformation online, and on social media in particular, has generated extraordinary concern, in large part because of its potential effects on public opinion, political polarization, and ultimately democratic decision making. Recently, however, a handful of papers have argued that both the prevalence and consumption of […]
By Duncan J. Watts, David M. Rothschild, and Markus MobiusAs denazification and reconstruction efforts ramped up across Germany in the wake of World War II, Germans and occupying Allied forces found themselves struggling with difficult questions around censorship and preservation, among them what to do with decades worth of Nazi writings. While books including Mein Kampf were banned for a period of years after […]
By John Bowers, Elaine Sedenberg, and Jonathan ZittrainI was in a cavernous college auditorium on the frigid winter afternoon in New Delhi in 2015 when Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google, was selling the promise of India, his home country and the company’s largest market, to 2,000 high school and college students. “Part of the reason we’re all very interested in India […]
By Pranav DixitBy now, those of us working in news media know what online violence looks like. It manifests as sexist abuse, threats to life and limb, doxing and trolling. Recent well publicized incidents include attacks against New York Times media reporter Taylor Lorenz, who was targeted after being singled out by Fox’s Tucker Carlson; Brazilian journalist […]
By Elisa Lees MunozFacebook has repeatedly allowed world leaders and politicians to use its platform to deceive the public or harass opponents despite being alerted to evidence of the wrongdoing. The Guardian has seen extensive internal documentation showing how Facebook handled more than 30 cases across 25 countries of politically manipulative behavior that was proactively detected by company […]
By Julia Carrie WongHe has been pushed off Facebook and banned from Twitter, but Larry Cook battles on at StopMandatoryVaccination.com, where the Los Angeles man tries to explain why COVID-19 vaccines are evil and why President Donald Trump — who he insists will return to power — got one anyway. Some evangelical Christians tie the vaccines to Satan, […]
By Teri SforzaVaccine falsehoods increased their share of the CoronaVirusFacts Alliance database in March, accounting for 49% of the 455 newly added claims. The database, which combines the work of more than 90 fact-checking organizations from more than 70 countries writing fact checks in more than 40 languages, has compiled more than 12,000 fact checks since the […]
By Harrison MantasIf you have ever engaged in heated debates with your family members about COVID-19 and vaccines, you’re not alone. As Australia’s vaccine rollout moves through Phase 1B for the broader public, some families have found themselves divided over the safety of vaccines and whether or not they want to be inoculated. The issue can be exacerbated by […]
By Erwin RenaldiMinority communities in Britain have long felt estranged from the government and medical establishment, but their sense of alienation is suddenly proving more costly than ever amid a coronavirus vaccination campaign that depends heavily on trust. With Britons enjoying one of the fastest vaccination rollouts in the world, skepticism about jabs remains high in many […]
By Geneva AbdulDespite a slight increase since 2016, the public’s low level of trust in the mainstream media is of deep concern for the future of journalism. Nearly half of people surveyed listed inaccuracies, bias and “fake news” as factors in their low confidence. A general lack of credibility and the perception that reporting is based on […]
By Dan SalamoneEvent Listing Header Prof. Kate Crawford is a leading scholar who has spent the last decade studying the social and political implications of artificial intelligence. She holds the inaugural chair of AI and Justice at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, is a senior principal researcher at MSR, and an Honorary Professor at the University […]