Disinformation and Democracy (Part I) | People and Power

For democracies to flourish and succeed, voters need accurate information on which to base their decisions; to weigh up the relative merits of proposed policy A over proposed policy B, to judge whether this candidate is more trustworthy or reliable than that one, or that these promises are more likely to be kept than those.
But recent elections, most notably that of Donald Trump as US President, have highlighted the dangers to this process posed by those using social media and the internet to spread malevolent propaganda and fake news.
In the alternative cyber-reality they’ve constructed, fiction suddenly becomes fact, lies become accepted truths, partisanship is entrenched and consensus about the real size of the budget deficit or the number of immigrants coming into the country or even whether a foreign power is a dangerous threat, becomes almost impossible to achieve.
So how and why have we arrived at this point? How is it that platforms such as Facebook, Google and Twitter have become, at the same time, so powerful and yet so apparently wide open to abuse and manipulation?
How, in other words, is social media being used to undermine the core principles of representative governance? In a two part People & Power special report, Bob Abeshouse investigates.
In the second episode of Disinformation and Democracy, People & Power delves deeper into how exactly both Russia and the extreme right use automated social media accounts, known as bots, to spread disinformation and propaganda - and what, if anything, is being done to stop them.
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[@perkeyser2032]

I know!! Let's blame Cisco for all the fake news that's going through their equipment!! And the keyboard manufacturers who make it possible to write the fake news!!! The mummies in congress who don't know what a computer is crack me up. It would be fun if it wasn't so depressing.

[@firefox5926]

maybe this says more about the lack of critical thinking , pattern recognition, tribalism and naivety of the American voteing public ...

[@ShmuelWeintraub]

F5926: Absolutely true. Media companies have always given us slanted information. It is the job of readers to sift through the lies and find the truth. That might be harder today than it was 40 years ago, but the responsibility for doing so hasn't changed.

[@outlawJosieFox]

firefox5926 yes indeed but certainly not just the US. Brexit was a triumph for Putin.

[@joseramero9665]

That explains Hillary winning the popular vote, too many people believed the main stream media's propaganda and lies and voted for her. CNN, MSNBC, PBS, NY TIMES, etc etc etc etc are almost all Democratic propaganda now and cater to the lowest common denominator.

[@RONRIFFLE.DEIcertified]

all these companies are world wide.

[@hannahox3935]

After reading The Game by Alessandro Baricco this whole idea of disinformation, facts and thus freedom, has changed into another dimension. Really recommend the book

[@snailbert147]

I have to watch this for school

[@elisabird6245]

If Facebook know so much about us, why do they keep sending me advertisements for gay holidays in very expensive resorts? I´m not gay and I have very little money.

[@caseyphillips3267]

FACT CHECK

[@VM-MV]

200.000 russian accountsvs BILLIONS of US accounts... yes that really makes matter :))))

[@Graphhh]

yeah.. these statements from the americans make them look like idiots. Didn't they push free speech ? this is free speech

[@AzureDior1]

No it isn't. The purpose of free speech is not to disseminate lies and falsehoods which are paraded as facts. The law doesn't protect that.

[@AzureDior1]

The number of accounts has no relation to influence. One account may have widespread influence and a million accounts may have none.

[@Mageroeth]

Dream the law does protect that, "those who give up freedom for security deserve niether" how easily we forget the past people like you are the poison of the USA.

[@doirish3678]

@blue jay very true.... ron paul?

[@dr.martiwolfe7824]

We have - and have had for years - a reliable way to evaluate the sources of information we receive. They are called 'editors' and 'fact checkers'. 'Harpers, the Atlantic

[@johnschmit6815]

Hey Al Jazeera please run your investigation on IPAC in US as you did in GBR🐸

[@Reza-nz2re]

They did

[@edwardwonghaupepelutivrusk9270]

This is blatant propaganda

[@jeanclaudejunior]

Edward Wong Hau Pepelu Tivrusky IV 馬鹿. 嘘だよ.

[@outlawJosieFox]

The only way to combat fake news and propaganda, whether that be Kremlin propaganda or Rupert Murdoch's propaganda, is to encourage people to learn how to be more discriminating. The truth is that we were constantly being subjected to aggressive marketing of political tropes by those who have the money and influence to access mainstream media; the only difference now is that we are able to comment directly on an article and share content ourselves rather than being limited to sharing the ideas given to us by the billionaire class.

[@tadasirblinda3072]

Foundations of Geopolitics The book emphasises that Russia must spread Anti-Americanism everywhere: "the main 'scapegoat' will be precisely the U.S." In the United States: "Russia should use its special services within the borders of the United States to fuel instability and separatism, for instance, provoke "Afro-American racists". Russia should "introduce geopolitical disorder into internal American activity, encouraging all kinds of separatism and ethnic, social and racial conflicts, actively supporting all dissident movements - extremist, racist, and sectarian groups, thus destabilizing internal political processes in the U.S. It would also make sense simultaneously to support isolationist tendencies in American politics." --Alexander Dugin, Russian Military Subversion specialist (Working for Kremlin)

[@myoutubecom-gg7sb]

closed face book

[@caseyphillips3267]

Rupert Murdoch sucks 😢

[@VM-MV]

Since the time americans understood that privacy may cost GOOD money, privacy stopped exist in digital world...

[@iknowitscrazybut9037]

Viktors M.-M. BS

[@robertkristiansen2183]

Im not on Fbook ..Justdont Like it .Real Life is not Fbook...!

[@---Free-Comics---IG---Playtard]

12:44 - Outfuckinstanding! +1

[@DickCheneyXX]

The problem isn't propaganda, it's democracy.