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How influencers and algorithms mobilize propaganda — and distort reality
The engagement-fuelled logic of social media has bequeathed us a world in which what’s trending is a yardstick for what’s true.
After a barrage of unsubstantiated accusations — including those levelled in a controversial investigation by the US House of Representatives’ judiciary committee, chaired by Republican congressman Jim Jordan — DiResta found that her research group at the SIO was suddenly dismantled in June, reportedly because of a change in institutional priorities. DiResta relates how her team was on the receiving end of them, while working as part of the Election Integrity Partnership, co-run by Kate Starbird, a computer scientist at the University of Washington in Seattle, who has also been a target of smear campaigns 1. DiResta also offers an important tip for scientists facing political threats: instead of sticking your head in the sand, pre-emptively release the facts and prebunk falsities before an alternative reality begins to take on a life of its own.
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