If you’re new to this newsletter, welcome!
Every month, as part of the Solutions to Disinformation series, I write about a different aspect of the solution set we need.
The first post focused on media literacy.
The second considered the role of fact-checking.
The third was about how we can use empathy to bring people back from extreme conspiracy thinking.
The fourth centred on the role of the media in all this.
This month, however, I need to tell you that I’m taking a little break for the summer. I’ll still be working away on posts about regulation, content moderation, technology, business models, research and partnerships, deradicalisation and reimagining the internet. But there’s still plenty you can catch up on from me that will surely interest you.
Last time out I told you about the four part podcast series I’ve been working on with my old colleague Della Kilroy for RTE. It’s called The Truth Matters: A Guide to Misinformation. Since that last post, episodes three and four were published. One dives into the role of journalism and content moderation, while the other looks broadly at other solutions, as per this newsletter.
You can check out the series yourself on Spotify, Apple, RTE, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also check out this short video we did to introduce the series. I wrote a little more about episode three here and episode four here.
Please feel free to send me any feedback!
I’ve also been writing a few posts on the Kinzen blog.
In one I call out how content moderators are the “essential workers” of the Information Age. I explain how journalism can support them with insights into Kinzen’s work. Check that out here.
The other post, co-authored with my colleague Karolin Schwarz, examines the online-offline convergence of conspiracy theories. Some anti-vaccine activists are creating an alternative service economy with their own dating sites, to take one example. Check that one out here.
If you’re missing the monthly Solutions to Disinformation series over the summer, you might be interested in checking out the Weekly Wrap I write for Kinzen. Here’s the latest one, and if you want more of that you can sign up for it at the bottom of that page.
Until next time!
Shane