Inside Story

Is enough being done to stop misinformation online?

Social media firms are under pressure to halt the spread of fake content on their platforms.

“Fake news” is a common cry from US President Donald Trump to discredit news stories critical of him.

The description also highlights one of the biggest challenges on the internet: how to stop the spread of misinformation online.

Social media companies are under increasing pressure to act.

YouTube is trialling alerts in India to flag suspicious videos, and Facebook removed more than 130 profiles it says were part of a UK-based misinformation network.

However, Britain’s House of Lords – the upper house of the UK parliament – is calling for a digital regulatory body, saying tech companies have failed to regulate themselves.

So how do you stop the spread of misinformation and lies?

 

Presenter: Elizabeth Puranam

Guests:

Aria Thaker – Writer at Quartz India covering politics and technology

Nolen Gertz – Technology ethicist and assistant professor at University of Twente

Nisanth Sastry – Senior lecturer at King’s College London researching the dissemination and consumption of digital content