The Foundations of Disinformation and Misinformation
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Commission on Information The Foundations of Disorder Knowledge Center Disinformation and Misinformation Selected Experts The term Information disorder was coined by researcher on the Topic: Dr. Claire Wardle to describe the broad societal challenges associated danah boyd with misinformation and disinformation, generally on the digital partner researcher at Microsoft Research, landscape, that contribute to the pollution of our evolving informa- founder and president tion ecosystem. Misinformation is the unintentional spread of false or of Data & Society Research Institute misleading information, shared by mistake, or under a presumption @zephoria of truth. Disinformation—false or misleading information that is delib- Renee DiResta erately spread with an intent to cause harm or damage—is neither technical research new nor unique to the modern day. manager at Stanford Internet Observatory @noUpside From Octavian’s propaganda campaign against Antony in Ancient Rome to ‘The Great Moon Hoax’ of 1835, disinformation has been Kolina Koltai postdoctoral researcher a favored weapon of politicians, civic leaders and mischief makers at the Center for an around the world. Yet the rise of the internet and the exponential Informed Public at the University of Washington growth of social media use across cultures and communities has @KolinaKoltai dramatically increased the speed and impact of false narratives. The Meghna Mahadevan tactics behind disinformation vary widely and further complicates disinformation defense strategist with our understanding around source motivation and intention. Knowing United We Dream how it’s done is just as important when trying to understand why. Thomas Rid professor of Strategic Reading Resources: The Future of Truth and Digital Democracy: Studies, Johns Hopkins Misinformation Online Accelerating A New University Information Disorder: (Janna Anderson And Field Of Knowledge @RidT Toward An Interdisciplinary Lee Rainie, Pew Research (Knight Foundation) Framework For Research Center) Claire Wardle And Policy Making Facebook: From Election co-founder of First Draft (First Draft) The Misinformation to Insurrection @cward1e Campaign Was Distinctly (Avaaz report) A short guide to the One-Sided Tackling misinformation: history of ’fake news’ (Renee DiResta, What researchers could do and disinformation The Atlantic) (International Center for with social media data (HKS Journalists) The long fuse: Misinformation Misinformation Review) and the 2020 election Addressing false information Video: A Brief History (Election Integrity during the 2020 election Of Disinformation, And Partnership report) What To Do About It and lessons for the future (Matt Tait, University of 20/20 Vision: Lessons (American Press Institute) Texas) learned about the challenges of disrupting The Long and Brutal misinformation in 2020 History of Fake News (First Draft article series) (Jacob Soll, Politico) Combatting Digital Podcast: Thomas Rid on Disinformation An Evaluation active measures and digital Of The William And Flora disinformation Hewlett Foundation’s (Brookings) Disinformation Strategy (Hewlett) 1 Commission on Information Regulation Models Disorder Knowledge Center from Other Parts of the World Selected Experts E!orts by various European countries to address distrust and on the Topic: disinformation vary across the continent. Regulating big technolo!y Victoria De Posson companies and social media platforms is an approach the U.S. has yet Disruptive Competition Project to e"ectively take, presenting opportunities for the American govern- Evelyn Douek ment to learn, adapt and act. lecturer at Harvard Law School @evelyndouek Reading Resources: Digital Services Act: Southeast Asia’s Ensuring a trustworthy and Disinformation Crisis: Where Dr. Aleksandra Social media: How do other safe online environment the State is the Biggest Bad Kuczerawy governments regulate it? while allowing freedom Actor and Regulation is a Senior Fellow and (BBC) of expression Bad Word Researcher at KU Leuven (Victoria De Posson, (Jonathan Corpus Ong, @AlexandraQu The United States Disruptive Competition Insights from the Social Needs a BBC Christoph Schmon Project) Sciences) (Foreign Policy, 2021) International Policy Twitter, Trump, and Tough Government Responses to director, Electronic How the EU’s new digital Decisions: EU Freedom of Disinformation on Social Frontier Foundation services act can help Expression and the Digital Media Platforms: France @EFF build trust and tackle Services Act (Library of Congress) illegal content (Christoph Schmon, (Victoria De Posson, Government Responses to Electronic Frontier Disruptive Competition Disinformation on Social Foundation) Project) Media Platforms EU Code of Practice on (Library of Congress) Disinformation: Briefing Note for the New European Commission (Carnegie Endowment) Law prohibiting election misinformation struck down (CBC) 2 Commission on Information First Amendment Disorder Knowledge Center and Section 230 Selected Experts Section 230 has become a political football in terms of platform on the Topic: accountability and responsibility regarding the spread of online mis Dr. Mary Anne Franks and disinformation. “One highly in!uential piece of misinformation President of the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative and is that the tech industry is biased against conservative "gures and Professor of Law at the conservative content,” shared Dr. Mary Anne Franks, president of University of Miami @ma_franks the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative as part of a question for Facebook, Twitter and Google CEOs. “Conservative "gures and content actu- Eric Goldman internet law professor, ally perform very well on social media sites such as Facebook, even Santa Clara University though they disproportionately violate companies’ policies against Law School @ericgoldman misinformation and other abuse.” With members of Congress intro- Jeff Kosseff ducing the SAFE TECH Act to address Section 230 concerns, ques- assistant professor of tions are being raised about how this could a#ect rights protected by cybersecurity law at the United States the First Amendment. Naval Academy, author of “The Twenty-Six Words That Created Reading Resources: Section 230: Everything You Six Constitutional Hurdles the Internet” Need to Know—Tweets, For Platform Speech @jkosseff The history of Section 230 Free Speech, Beyond Regulation (60 Minutes, with Jeff (Mike Masnick, podcast) (Daphne Keller, Center Mike Masnick Kosseff) for Internet and Society) founder and CEO of Hello! You’ve Been Referred the Copia Institute Speech on the internet: Here Because You’re Mapping Worldwide @mmasnick The First Amendment and Wrong About Section 230 Initiatives to Counter Section 230 are different Of The Communications Influence Operations (Marketplace) Decency Act (Carnegie Endowment for (Mike Masnick, Techdirt International Peace) blog) How Section 230 Enhances the First Amendment (Eric Goldman, American Constitution Society) 3 Commission on Information Cognitive Science Disorder Knowledge Center and Behavioral Economics Selected Experts Social media may have provided a space for mis and disinformation on the Topic: to spread, but questions around why people believe and share false Meredith Broussard content and how they became radicalized must be addressed as well. research director at the NYU Alliance for Public What roles do cognitive biases and mental shortcuts, as described by Interest Technology behavioral economics, and the development of algorithms affect or @merbroussard even degrade our information ecosystem? Panayiota (Pani) Kendeou Educational Psychology, Reading Resources: Political psychology in the Fake News and co-author of the digital (mis)information age: Anthropology: A Debunking Handbook ‘Exit Counselors’ Strain To A model of news belief Conversation on Technology, @Kendeou Pull Americans Out Of A and sharing Trust, and Publics in an Age Eric Saund Web Of False Conspiracies (Preprint) of Mass Disinformation Research scientist (Tovia Smith, NPR) (Journal of the Association How Cybersecurity Experts in Cognitive Science for Political and Legal COVID lies, conspiracy Can Nudge Users To Make and AI Anthropology) theories build on boredom, Safer Choices Jason Stanley beliefs (Kathrin Wesolowski, (Perry Carpenter, Forbes) philosophy Deutsche Welle) How Facebook got @jasonintrator addicted to spreading misinformation (Karen Hao, Tech Review) 4 Commission on Information Platform Response Disorder Knowledge Center and Accountability Selected Experts Social media platforms and Big Tech play a pivotal role in both on the Topic: the spread and response to online mis and disinformation. Questions Emily Bell regarding transparency, responsibility and accountability have risen founder, director, Tow Center for Digital as independent researchers and technologists work to understand Journalism at Columbia how to approach studying platform impact when data and access University @Emilybell are restricted. Platform-led efforts, policies and research have been developed internally and with nonprofit organizations, but questions Erin Gallagher social media researcher still remain over their effectiveness. @3r1nG Timnit Gebru computer scientist and Reading Resources: Can “Inoculation” Build Platform Interventions: How co-founder, Black in AI Broad-Based Resistance to Social Media Counters All Change No Fix: How Big @timnitGebru Misinformation? Influence Operations Tech’s “Self regulation” fails (Jigsaw) (Partnership for Countering Ifeoma Ozoma our democracy Influence Operations,