[ad_1]
More and more people are falling victim to fake news, i.e. false or misleading information content that can spread quickly, also thanks to technological advances that facilitate the creation of authentic and increasingly sophisticated deepfakes. This dangerous vicious cycle leads to the reinforcement of bias and misinformation, which the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks 2024 Report considers “the greatest short-term global danger facing democracies”. The phenomenon raises concerns about the reliability of online information and the impact that deliberate alteration of the news can have on public opinion. The situation is further complicated by the distrust of traditional media, which has prompted many to turn to alternative sources such as social networks and messaging apps, which are fertile ground for the proliferation of fake news. The situation is exacerbated by interference from some countries, such as the lies created by China on events in Taiwan and Russia’s past interference in disinformation spread in various geopolitical situations, including the United States. The stakes have increased dramatically in light of the electoral appointments in the European Union and the United States.
The Importance of Pre-Bunking
In this context, it becomes essential to promote the practice of “debunking”, that is, to provide tools to identify fake news in advance, rather than relying solely on traditional post-hoc “debunking”, the prerogative of journalists and specialized websites. This need is emphasized by Walter Quattrociocchi, researcher at the Sapienza Center for Data Science and author of a study published in Nature that investigates the toxic nature of interactions in digital communities.
“Studies show that we tend to trust sources that confirm our biases. The business model of social media is based more on entertainment than information, fragmenting opinions into self-referential ‘echo chambers'”, explains Quattrociocchi. This is a perverse dynamic, and “denying sources does not work because people cling to their mental models even when faced with factual evidence”. The only effective solution, the researchers say, is to “provide tools to understand the mechanisms of misinformation and to understand the cognitive biases that influence news reception”. Only in this way can the spread of fake news be truly curbed.
Tech giants strike back: Google sharpens its weapons
Search engine Google has teamed up with Moonshot and other local partners to create a portal (also in Italian) that brings together all the important information about disinformation, misinformation and manipulation. The initiative is part of an EU whistleblower campaign to combat some of the most popular means of online manipulation. On the page, you’ll find videos explaining scapegoating and decontextualization techniques, i.e. the use of irrelevant media to support claims. As well as links to institutional sources and Elections24Check, you can easily find and easily get verified voting information and data from more than 40 European fact-checking organizations in 37 countries across the continent. In addition to this, Google launched some features in April, namely pre-made tools to help users assess the reliability of online news sources, encouraging them to develop a personal database of reliable sources to rely on over the long term.
In the first case, when performing a search, you can click on the 3 vertical dots that appear next to each result. A side popup will open, providing additional information about the source, index date, social profile links, a list of useful reviews from sites like the web and Trustpilot. In addition, results from a “from source name search” will appear, providing the information you need to know more about the site you got the information from.
[ad_2]
Source link
