Renée DiResta, a research manager at the Stanford Internet Observatory, and Katie Harbath, a former public policy director at Facebook, dive deep into the world of disinformation during conflicts. They discuss the chaos of social media narratives amid the Israel-Hamas war and the challenges of verifying online content. With insights into how platforms handle misinformation and the emotional toll on content moderators, they emphasize the importance of credible journalism and critically assessing information sources in a fogged landscape.
The prevalence of misinformation and disinformation in the Middle East conflict makes it difficult to discern what is true and where it originates.
The viral spread of misleading videos and images, often taken from past conflicts or unrelated sources, contributes to the lack of trust and confusion among consumers of information.
Social media platforms face regulatory pressures to combat disinformation and protect users, but they also need to address challenges such as bugs, resource allocation, and algorithmic biases.
Deep dives
The Challenge of Misinformation in the Information War
In the podcast episode, the hosts discuss the prevalence of misinformation and disinformation in the current conflict in the Middle East. They highlight how organizations and individuals are using various platforms and AI tools to spread propaganda and monetize the information war. The flood of information, both real and fake, makes it difficult to discern what is true and where it originates. The hosts also address the challenges faced by social media platforms in moderating and curating content, and the pressure they face from regulators to combat disinformation.
The Impact of Disinformation and the Collapse of Consensus Reality
The episode emphasizes the impact of disinformation and the broader implications of the collapse of consensus reality. With the widespread democratization of generative AI, content that is real can be dismissed as fake, creating a lack of trust and confusion among consumers of information. The guests discuss the difficulty in verifying content and the viral spread of misleading videos and images, often taken from past conflicts or unrelated sources. This phenomenon is seen across various platforms, with Telegram emerging as a significant platform for spreading disinformation. The hosts also touch on the challenges faced by moderators and the need for improved policies and algorithms to address the issue.
Regulatory Pressures and Platform Responsibility
The episode delves into the regulatory pressures on social media platforms, particularly in Europe, to combat disinformation and protect users. The hosts discuss the investigation into Twitter and the warnings sent to other platforms by the EU Commissioner. They explore the challenges faced by platforms in addressing the issue, with bugs, resource allocation, and algorithmic biases contributing to the suppression of certain content. The guests also highlight the importance of user responsibility in not amplifying unverified or inaccurate information, and the need for platforms to uphold their terms of service and take greater responsibility in addressing the spread of disinformation.
Verification challenges in social media
The podcast explores the challenges of verifying information on social media platforms during times of crisis or conflict. It discusses how misinformation can quickly spread and the difficulty in determining the credibility of sources. The panelists highlight the importance of authoritative news sources and independent journalists on the ground for reliable information. They also discuss the limitations and responsibility of social media platforms in curbing the spread of misinformation.
Media diet and credible sources
The panelists share their media diets and discuss credible sources of information. They mention relying on major news outlets, such as CNN and The New York Times, for hard news reporting. They also mention organizations like the Atlantic Council's Digital Forensics Research Lab and Bellingcat for in-depth analysis and fact-checking. The importance of media literacy and engaging with multiple sources is emphasized to navigate the complexities of information on social media platforms.
Social media has been inundated with disinformation about the Israel-Hamas war — from a flood of graphic visual content, to unsubstantiated claims and opportunistic content generation (and monetization) by third parties to this conflict.
To make sense of this fog of war, we turn to a panel that brings together a reporter, a researcher and a former Facebook/Meta insider: Shayan Sardarizadeh is a senior disinformation journalist with the BBC, Renée DiResta is a research manager at the Stanford Internet Observatory, and Katie Harbath spent 10 years as the public policy director at Facebook. Together, they unpack how we got here – and how we might seek clarity in a moment fogged by intense emotion, unfolding information and immense complexity.
Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find us on social media. We’re on Instagram/Threads as @karaswisher and @nayeemaraza
