Disinformation, Part 2: the US

In this episode, SIS professor Samantha Bradshaw joins Big World to discuss the spread of disinformation online in the US. Over the last decade in the United States, disinformation is a topic that has dominated discussions surrounding elections, political campaigns, COVID-19, and more. Bradshaw, who is a leading expert on new technologies and democracy, begins our discussion by explaining her definition of disinformation (1:41) and overviews the factors that have contributed to the rise of disinformation in the US over the last decade (2:41). Bradshaw also identifies the kinds of groups who primarily spread disinformation in the United States (5:40). Are people being targeted with disinformation roughly equally, or do disparities exist between racial and ethnic groups (8:41)? What does Bradshaw think about the methods social media companies are using to combat the spread of disinformation (11:55)? Bradshaw answers these questions and discusses her research into Russian trolling operations (15:16) and press freedom (24:03) before rounding out the episode with some thoughts on disinformation and AI (27:00). In the “Take 5” segment (18:53), Bradshaw answers the question: What five policies would you want to see enacted in the US to address disinformation?