Caffeinated Capitalists: Venture Capital’s 25 Favorite CafesRead More

Art by Mike Sullivan

We’ve Got Misinformation All Wrong

By and  |  Sept. 15, 2022 9:00 AM PDT
Photo: Art by Mike Sullivan

Both advocacy groups and political leaders tend to assume that misinformation persists on social media because the platforms are unwilling to get rid of it—a gross and unhelpful oversimplification. Some of the largest technology companies in the world spend tens of billions of dollars each year to maintain the integrity of discourse on their platforms. So why does misinformation persist?

False and misleading content continues to go viral day after day, week after week on nearly every platform. In Kenya, Chile and any number of other countries around the world, the spread of misinformation is eroding trust in democracy, in electoral processes and in our fellow citizens. In the U.S., as we approach the midterm elections in the fall, our digital spaces are already awash in deliberate falsehoods about public health issues, global events and even the results of our last election.

To hold platforms accountable, we have to understand them first—and to do that, we must first accept that misinformation is not one problem, but rather a whole set of problems.

Get access to exclusive coverage
Read deeply reported stories from the largest newsroom in tech.
Latest Articles
 
Exclusive policy
TikTok Shifts Into Damage Control Mode
A TikTok advertisement at Union Station in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, March 22, 2023. Photo by Bloomberg.
TikTok and some companies that work with the popular app have shifted into damage control mode after a rancorous Congressional grilling of TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew failed to allay lawmakers’ concerns that its Chinese parent, ByteDance, poses a national security risk. Golin, a major public relations firm that hires creators on behalf of brand clients, on Friday asked some clients to hold...
Latest Briefs
 
Amazon Starts Latest Round of 9,000 Layoffs
Nasdaq to Launch Crypto Custody Service By End of June
Taking Aim at OpenAI, Databricks Releases ‘Dolly’ Language Model
Stay in the know
Receive a summary of the day's top tech news—distilled into one email.
Access on the go
View stories on our mobile app and tune into our weekly podcast.
Join live video Q&A’s
Deep-dive into topics like startups and autonomous vehicles with our top reporters and other executives.
Enjoy a clutter-free experience
Read without any banner ads.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk last August. Photo by Bloomberg
Exclusive startups electric vehicles
SpaceX Plans New Funding With Backing From Saudi, UAE Investors
A subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s investment fund and an Abu Dhabi investment firm are planning to invest in a multibillion-dollar funding round for SpaceX, Elon Musk’s rocket company, according to people familiar with the investor discussions.
Tonal’s now-shuttered Palo Alto, Calif. retail store. Photo by Getty.
Exclusive startups
Tonal’s Valuation May Fall 90% in ‘Cram-Down’ Financing
Tonal, a fitness startup with a cadre of celebrity backers, is crunched for cash after failing to find a buyer.
Clockwise from top left: Julie Bornstein, Esther Crawford, Mark Hammond, Max Cutler, Kağan Sümer. Photos via Julie Bernstein, Robert Cowherd, Microsoft, Wikimedia and Kağan Sümer.
Free Agents startups
On the Market: The Founders Who Joined Microsoft, Spotify, Coinbase and Twitter
Call them acqui-fires. Several founders who took positions at the bigger tech companies that bought their startups recently lost their jobs when layoffs rolled through Silicon Valley.
Art by Clark Miller.
Opinion startups economy
SVB Is Dead. Long Live SVB.
We all know how it began. It started on March 9, when the run on Silicon Valley Bank made the innovation economy totter and threatened a global financial crisis.
Bill Gurley in 2019. Photo by Bloomberg
Exclusive
Good Eggs Cuts Its Valuation 94% in Lifeline Financing as More Startups Get Desperate
As more startups struggle to raise money from venture capitalists and approach bankruptcy, they are going to extreme lengths to stay afloat.
Art by Mike Sullivan
Exclusive microsoft startups
Amazon Faces Moment of Truth on Alexa as ChatGPT Steals Its Thunder
At the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show, Amazon announced one of its biggest partnerships yet to help make its Alexa voice assistant ubiquitous: a deal with Toyota to integrate Alexa into the auto giant’s cars.