I am seeing many posts about misinformation being less pervasive recently. How is it that we can measure it effectively but not mange/stop it as effectively?
In: Other
Apparently it can be stoped fairly effectively – by blocking key distributors and nexuses of disinformation we see a massive nosedive in how much of it spreads.
It’s much harder to counter disinformation with *information* though. The purpose of a lot of disinformation isn’t necessarily to convince someone in one go, but to flood them with fake arguments to lower their confidence or trust in other sources. The trouble is that engaging people spreading disinformation amplifies their reach and also as the effect of repeating the disinformation while suggesting it has legitimacy as an argument. The disinformer’s immediate goal is to get third party listeners/readers to take away an impression that there is simply controversy and who knows which side is telling the truth – anyone engaging with them adds to this effect.
Oh we absolutely can not measure ‘misinformation’ effectively. The irony is that even **if** we could, that computation would be funded and abused by the same ruling class puppet masters.
The reason you’ve been seeing this recently, is because of certain current events unfolding politically but have more to do with spreading it then being rid of it.
We literally just had misinformed yahoos storm the capital building because the former president told them he didn’t lose and the election was being literally stolen, and a bunch of white nationalists told them they shouldn’t masturbate. They also think that same former president is some kind of undercover superspy who will declare global martial law to defeat the America corporation and kill all the pedophiles that secretly run Hollywood and the government. That should be the plot to the next Austin powers movie, not the reason for armed insurrection.
If you think misinformation is on the decline, you’re not paying attention.
You can measure something with sampling. Pick a random sample of posts and see what frachion of them are false. That doesn’t scale to deleting false posts.
Latest Answers