Dangers of Misinformation

Reading Reflection - 4/16

These readings went over the complexity of misinformation and its ethical implications especially within digital media and science communication. Technologies we’ve talked about in class like social media platforms, online news, and scientific publishing systems are in the center of this topic. Ethical issues are shown to us from how misinformation and disinformation spread, which in turn influences public perception and decision making. Starbird talks about alternative media's (tiktoks, podcasts like joe rogan, etc…) role in promoting conspiracy theories after mass shootings, and the ethical responsibility of platforms in moderating harmful narratives. Calo also highlights big differences between misinformation, disinformation, and protected speech on the one hand and dangerous behavior on the other, claiming that these accountability measures for platforms are justified when misinformation results in real world harm. West and Bergstrom specifically talk about scientific misinformation and show us how biases in scientific publication and media ‘click bait’ ruin public trust and informed decision making.

Applying ethical principles like consequentialism means policies and actions should aim to limit the harm inflicted by misinformation by increasing transparency and accountability for everyone. For me, platform accountability is interesting cause unchecked misinformation ruins public trust. Ethical responsibility isn’t just for content creators but also with platforms and institutions that mediate information exchange, which points to the importance of having clear ethical guidelines in digital communication.