From my new column co-authored with Patrick Ball:
Since "fake news" rose to prominence during and after the 2016 election, the United States and countries around the world have struggled to determine how to most effectively address political misinformation. Though critics' worst fears about the influence of online misinformation are likely overstated, false or misleading political claims are being amplified by platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, deceiving voters and distorting public debate on an unprecedented scale.
As a result, these firms have faced increasing scrutiny from Congress and the media. However, calls for reform are increasingly coming not just from politics and journalism but from employees of the platforms themselves, the skilled computer engineers and managers who are Big Tech's most scarce – and thus most valuable – resource. For that reason, technologists could be a critical ally in the fight against online misinformation.
This article was published as part of Defusing Disinfo, a project of the Stand Up Republic Foundation.