Disinformation

This is what we're up against

Bad actors spreading disinformation online to fuel intolerance.

Teams of lawyers from the rich and powerful trying to stop us publishing stories they don’t want you to see.

Lobby groups with opaque funding who are determined to undermine facts about the climate emergency and other established science.

Authoritarian... See more

Tell me in two minutes

The cross-roads between AI and online safety present two major societal risks:

1. the generation of ‘deepfakes’ and abusive content


2. the proliferation of false information.

These risks derive from generative AI ( GenAI ) - and they are more dangerous and damaging than the long-known risks from traditional AI. GenAI can make... See more

A study released Sunday by The Global Disinformation Index, a UK nonprofit that rates sites’ trustworthiness, found that 70% of roughly 1,700 disinformation sites it analyzed were getting so-called “programmatic ads” — ads placed automatically — from Google, putting brand names such as Audi and Sprint next to junk content.

Digital ads are a $330-billion global business, according to estimates by the research firm eMarketer, and one that’s increasingly dominated by a few major players like Google and Facebook. Google plays a dual role in it both as one of the biggest sellers of online ads on the planet, and also the biggest tech company placing online ads on... See more

Throughout media history, media technologies and services have evolved to serve functions that are ultimately very different from those for which they were created. Radio was created to facilitate ship-to-shore communication. The VCR was created to facilitate home video recording, with its creators having no idea of the massive video rental/sales

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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... See more