Problematic content – what some call “fake news” — regarding the elections is spreading rapidly in the media environment, potentially laying the groundwork for chaos in this election season. And the most potentially damaging content, according to some experts on disinformation, doesn’t have to be patently false to have an impact.
“That’s exactly why sometimes it’s so hard to identify,” said Cameron Hickey, a former journalist and program director of Algorithmic Transparency, a project of the National Conference on Citizenship (NCOC). According to Hickey, problematic content includes disinformation (intentional), misinformation (unintentional), rumors, junk news, and conspiracies. Subject matter varies, he said, noting categories such as:
Ethnic Media Services | October 2020, Pilar Marrero