Three years ago, Google founded a website to help journalists verify images and videos online. Now it's how do you know that trending topic is authentic? How do you know this network of accounts pushing the same material is authentic? So it's the shift again has been quick, but it's using the same tools. We see satire used deliberately as a ploy to get around the fact checker.
How can tech companies help flatten the curve? First and foremost, they must address the lethal misinformation and disinformation circulating on their platforms. The problem goes much deeper than fake news, according to Claire Wardle, co-founder and executive director of First Draft. She studies the gray zones of information warfare, where bad actors mix facts with falsehoods, news with gossip, and sincerity with satire. “Most of this stuff isn't fake and most of this stuff isn't news,” Claire argues. If these subtler forms of misinformation go unaddressed, tech companies may not only fail to flatten the curve — they could raise it higher.