Why We're Losing the Misinformation War: The Information Futures Lab's Claire Wardle

In Reality

It was eight years ago, when Brexit and the US Presidential election showed how misinformation enables real-world damage. Since then, researchers, content managers, regulators, journalists and others sprang into action to counter misinformation and now misinformation pollutions is even worse. Why?
Claire Wardle has some ideas. She’s been in the fight since the beginning. In 2015, she was the founder of the pioneering research and training organization, First Draft News. She’s led teams on misinformation and verification at the BBC, Columbia Journalism School, and the UN among others. She’s now the co-founder of the Information Futures Lab at Brown University.
Claire and Eric discuss the backlash against content moderation; the perverse incentives that work against collaboration against misinformation; the role of journalists in rising mistrust of media; artificial intelligence and falsehood; and everyone’s personal responsibility for standing up for truth.
Topics

• Introduction and Background
• The Role of Information in Public Health
• Encouraging Collaboration and Cross-Disciplinary Work
• Community-Centered Approach to Addressing Misinformation
• The Role of Media in Information Pollution
• Journalism's Responsibility and Trust Decline
• Misinformation in Officialdom: Florida Surgeon General
• Undermining of Expertise and Trust in Science
• Individual Responsibility and Media Literacy
• The Need for Regulation and Oversight
• The Challenges of AI and Content Moderation
• The Role of Courts in Addressing Social Media Harms
• Hope for Regulation and Oversight
• The Importance of Curating Newsfeeds and Avoiding Information Bubble

Producer: Tom Platts

Website - free episode transcripts
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Alliance for Trust in Media
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