Obama spurs debate over how to curb faulty information

Former President Barack Obama voiced concern over the proliferation of false information that is hurting the U.S. as seen in the statistic that one in five refuse vaccination for Covid-19 in the belief it will damage them. He suggests several reforms for the internet from greater transparency on algorithms to slowing the spread of viral posts to allow fact checking. (Platformer, April 21, 2022. by Casey Newton)

Stanford professor Michell Mello addressed the problem of curbing the spread of bad information without infringing on free speech rights. She said although the Supreme Court protected false statements to promote the free flow of ideas and to keep the government out of a regulatory role, Mello said there are areas that the courts allow regulation of false statements. But she said, the heart of the problem is that concerning such problems as whether to get vaccinated, people have been swayed by those they identify as trustworthy even when the information is faulty. “…when an issue becomes politicized,” said Mello,”people view messages from the group they don’t identify with as suspicious, and messages from the group they do identify with as trustworthy — regardless of how well the messages align with the evidence.” (SCOPE (Stanford Medicine), April 21, 2022, by Sharon Beckstrand)

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