Addressing disinformation in this generation. And the next.
Note to subscribers: Thank you for your support! We’re fielding the next survey to fuel the coming months of R3, including consumer attitudes on tech ecosystem participation, recent launches from Apple, Microsoft and Google, video subscription bundles, handset-content tie-ups, post-pandemic digital entertainment, crypto, Facebook, and much more.
While its usage was exposed in the context of a presidential election, disinformation has been used to further any number of opinion-spreading goals, including profit. Recently, for example, reports have surfaced that a disinformation campaign tried to peg the coronavirus on Maine lobsters (as if the whole “being boiled alive” thing wasn’t enough to deal with). Meanwhile, oil executives, who also know a thing or two about aquatic bio-catastrophes, were recently called to testify before Congress regarding accusations of spreading falsehoods about climate change.
More than 95% of respondents said that disinformation on social media is at least a somewhat serious problem.
As we emerge from the pandemic, the anti-vaccine movement has spurred a hotbed of disinformation that has been suppressing vaccination rates and is predictably following the imminent approval of vaccines for those under 12. And while YouTube has pledged to ban anti-vaccine content, former Facebook staff have alleged that their company has known about its fake news problem for years. With so much disinformation flooding social media, how do consumers say they try to ascertain a story’s veracity?