With its growing impact on real-world events, online disinformation is not a problem that any society can afford to ignore. But because the problem touches on such a wide range of policy issues, economic sectors, and fundamental democratic principles, it will not be solved with just one policy or approach.
STANFORD – The storming of the US Capitol on January 6 imbued longstanding concerns about digital disinformation with a new sense of urgency, because it showed just how easily online engagement can lead to offline action. It didn’t take long to reach this point. Digital disinformation first entered public consciousness with the Brexit campaign in the United Kingdom and Donald Trump’s election as US president. And yet, as the Capitol insurrection showed, the overall disinformation landscape of the last few years differs notably from that in 2016.
STANFORD – The storming of the US Capitol on January 6 imbued longstanding concerns about digital disinformation with a new sense of urgency, because it showed just how easily online engagement can lead to offline action. It didn’t take long to reach this point. Digital disinformation first entered public consciousness with the Brexit campaign in the United Kingdom and Donald Trump’s election as US president. And yet, as the Capitol insurrection showed, the overall disinformation landscape of the last few years differs notably from that in 2016.