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
www.in-reality.fm

Produced by Tom Platts at Sound Sapien
soundsapien.com

Alliance for Trust in Media
alliancefortrust.com

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