What is "misinformation"? Why does it matter? How does it spread on the internet, especially on social media platforms? What can we do to counteract the worst of its effects? Can we counteract its effects now that it is ubiquitous? These are the questions we answer in this book. We are living in an information age (specifically an "algorithmic age") which prioritizes information "quantity" over "quality". Social media has brought billions of people from across the world together online and the impact of diverse platforms, such as Facebook, WeChat, Reddit, LinkedIn, Signal, WhatsApp, Gab, Instagram, Telegraph, and Snapchat, has been transformational.
The internet was created, with the best of intentions, as an online space where written content could be created, consumed and diffused without any real intermediary. This empowering aspect of the web is still, mostly, a force for good. People, on the whole, are better informed and online discussion is more inclusive because barriers to participation are reduced. As activity online has grown, however, an expanding catalogue of research reveals a darker side to social media, and the internet generally. Namely, misinformation’s ability to negatively influence our behaviour both online and offline.
The solution we provide to this growing dilemma is informed by Ludwig Wittgenstein’s Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, which examines the relationship between language and reality from a philosophical perspective, and complements Claude Shannon’s Information Quantity Theory, which addresses the quantification, storage and communication of digital information from a mathematical perspective. The book ends by setting out a model designed by us: a "Wittgensteinian" approach to information quality. It defines content published online by clarifying the propositions and claims made within it. Our model’s online information quality check allows users to effectively analyse the quality of trending online content. This approach to misinformation analysis and prevention has been designed to be both easy to use and pragmatic. It upholds freedom of speech online while using the "harm principle" to categorise problematic content.
Author(s): Uyiosa Omoregie, Kirsti Ryall
Publisher: CRC Press
Year: 2023
Language: English
Pages: 114
City: Boca Raton
Cover
Half Title
Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
Preface
About the Authors
Chapter 1: Introduction
Online Platforms’ Existential Crisis
Economic Impact of Misinformation
Falsehood Travels Fast
The Algorithmic Age
Computationalism
Notes
Chapter 2: Background
A Brief History of Falsehood Propagation
The Invention of the Printing Press and (Mis)information Propagation
From Mass Media to Fragmented Media
Social Media’s Turn from Democracy to Authoritarianism
Propaganda
Note
Chapter 3: A Philosophical Approach
Facts, Belief, Opinion and Truth
Leibniz and Frege on “Truth” and “Fact”
Checking for “Truth” and “Fact” Online through Analysis
Decision and Action
William James’ Live/Dead Hypotheses
W.V. Quine on Two Dogmas Obstructing Pragmatism
Bertrand Russell’s Scepticism
Frank Ramsey’s Principle
The Connection between Wittgenstein and Ramsey
Philosophy of Information
Our Own Model
Note
Chapter 4: Interventions
Content Moderation
Behavioural Nudges
Information Quality Ranking versus Algorithmic Ranking
How Facebook’s News Feed Works ( Facebook 2021)
Twitter’s Switch to Algorithmic Ranking of Content
Vanity Metrics and Quality Metrics
Bridging-Based Ranking of Content
Algorithmic Choice
Receptive Reading and Participatory Restraint
Media/Information/News/Digital Literacy
Natural Language Processing, AI and Misinformation Prevention
GPT-3 Language Model
Chapter 5: Analysing the Problem
Origins of Modern Logic and Language Processing Systems
The Chomsky-Norvig Debate
AI Limitations and Prospects
Father of the Information Age
Information Quality Theory
Free Speech and the Harm Principle
The Harm Principle 2.0
Free Speech, Free Reach, Free Expression and Free Impression
The Misinformation Challenge
A Systems Approach to Misinformation Analysis
Misinformation and Malinformation
Off-information and Non-information
Wittgenstein’s Approach
The Key Theses in Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus
Notes
Chapter 6: The Global Online Information Quality Check Model
How Does This Analytical Model Work?
We Foresee Three Ways of Using Our Proposed Model
Chapter 7: Conclusion
Appendix: Detailed Survey Questions and Results
Survey Question 1
Survey Question 2
Survey Question 3
Survey Question 4
Survey Question 5
Survey Question 6
Survey Question 7
Survey Question 8
Survey Question 9
Survey Question 10
Glossary of Terms
Bibliography
Further Reading
A Misinformation Prevention Reading List
I. Books
II. Reports/Monographs/Manuals/Government Documents
III. Papers/Articles
IV. Blog Posts/Opinion
V. More Advanced Material
Index
