Meta shift from fact-checking to crowdsourcing spotlights competing approaches in fight against misinformation and hate speech

Content moderation is a thorny issue, often pitting safety against free speech. But does it even work, and which approach is best?

Anjana Susarla, Professor of Information Systems, Michigan State University • conversation
Jan. 15, 2025 ~7 min

What Meta’s move to community moderation could mean for misinformation

The company says the change aims to promote free expression and reduce censorship.

Denitsa Dineva, Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Marketing and Strategy, Cardiff University • conversation
Jan. 10, 2025 ~6 min


Vaccine misinformation distorts science – a biochemist explains how RFK Jr. and his lawyer’s claims threaten public health

Many claims about the dangers of vaccines come from misrepresenting scientific research papers.

Mark R. O'Brian, Professor and Chair of Biochemistry, University at Buffalo • conversation
Dec. 17, 2024 ~9 min

How right-wing media is like improv theater

Improv theater is known for improvisation, audience participation and riffing on memes and stories circulating on social and traditional media – all hallmarks of right-wing media.

Kate Starbird, Professor of Human Centered Design & Engineering, University of Washington • conversation
Dec. 4, 2024 ~11 min

The apocalypse that wasn’t: AI was everywhere in 2024’s elections, but deepfakes and misinformation were only part of the picture

Like it or not, AI is now part and parcel of elections, from helping with mundane campaign functions to enabling politicians to speak to constituents in multiple languages at once.

Nathan Sanders, Affiliate, Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society, Harvard University • conversation
Dec. 2, 2024 ~9 min

An 83-year-old short story by Borges portends a bleak future for the internet

Borges imagined an endless library that contained every possible permutation of letters. The truth is out there, but it’s embedded among hoards of lies and gibberish.

Roger J. Kreuz, Associate Dean and Professor of Psychology, University of Memphis • conversation
Nov. 19, 2024 ~7 min

How close are we to an accurate AI fake news detector?

AI are using data from neuroscience to try to get better at spotting fake news.

Magda Osman, Professor of Policy Impact, University of Leeds • conversation
Nov. 6, 2024 ~9 min

Misinformation really does spread like a virus, suggest mathematical models drawn from epidemiology

Going viral appears to be more than just a catchphrase when it comes to misinformation.

David Robert Grimes, Assistant Professor of Biostatistics, Public Health & Primary Care, Trinity College Dublin • conversation
Nov. 5, 2024 ~9 min


Listen: How you can spot misinformation

"... we are still as vulnerable as we ever were to the same sorts of approaches at being deceived, intentionally or unintentionally."

John Boccacino-Syracuse U. • futurity
Nov. 4, 2024 ~8 min

Misinformation is more than just bad facts: How and why people spread rumors is key to understanding how false information travels and takes root

Spreading rumors is human nature. It’s a way people try to make sense of a messy world. In the age of social media and disinformation campaigns, it’s also how people can be misled.

Stephen Prochaska, Graduate Research Assistant, Center for an Informed Public, University of Washington • conversation
Oct. 30, 2024 ~12 min

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