Disinformation is part and parcel of social media’s business model, new research shows

Disinformation aims to confuse, paralyse and polarise society at large for political, military, or commercial purposes through orchestrated campaigns to strategically spread deceptive or manipulative media content. On social media, disinformation tools include bots, deep fakes, fake news and conspiracy theories.

Democratic governance of digital platforms

Most brands do not want to be associated with hate speech and bot farms, but they are. It is easy to look the other way in such a technically complicated market, but marketers have a responsibility. Brands become complicit by remaining silent.

Policymakers and activists are pushing to reform digital platfor... See more

Digital marketing and disinformation

Digital marketing is a commercial practice by which firms create value over the internet. It includes search optimisation, content marketing, influencers, pay-per-click adverts, affiliate programs, and ordinary advertising. Brands hire digital marketing agencies and firms known as ad tech, which operate the soft... See more

A business model that rewards engagement

Social media platforms were not designed to convey information, but rather for entertainment. They were designed to identify things like the most amusing cat videos, and then recommend them to people who would share them. However, marketing researchers have since found that content that evokes strong positiv... See more