When It Comes to Foreign Affairs Misinformation, What’s Old is New and What’s Borrowed is News

Of all the threats to the idea of a Fourth Estate providing citizens the information necessary for democracy to function all over the world today, perhaps none are as grave as the one posed by Facebook, whose revolutionary digital platform allows misinformation and propaganda to spread instantly like an anti-deliberative virus. With 2.46 billion users, a near monopoly status in the media system, and an incentive system that makes it beholden to shareholders and political leaders in the countries where it is used, it’s hard to know how to resolve the problems it poses for democracy. More than just impacting domestic democratic deliberation, the spread of misinformation has confused our understanding of foreign affairs. Yet as much as the technological affordances that allow Facebook to thrive represent a radical break from the past, it’s also good to remind ourselves that there is nothing completely new under the sun.

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Work Title When It Comes to Foreign Affairs Misinformation, What’s Old is New and What’s Borrowed is News
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Open Access
Creators
  1. Matthew Frank Jordan
Keyword
  1. misinformation
License In Copyright (Rights Reserved)
Work Type Article
Publisher
  1. International Affairs Forum
Publication Date January 2020
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Deposited January 12, 2021

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    Description
    • Of all the threats to the idea of a Fourth Estate providing citizens the information necessary for democracy to function all over the world today, perhaps none are as grave as the one posed by Facebook, whose revolutionary digital platform allows misinformation and propaganda to spread instantly like an anti-deliberative virus. With 2.46 billion users, a near monopoly status in the media system, and an incentive system that makes it beholden to shareholders and political leaders in the countries where it is used, it’s hard to know how to resolve the problems it poses for democracy. More than just impacting domestic democratic deliberation, the spread of misinformation has confused our understanding of foreign affairs. Yet as much as the technological affordances that allow Facebook to thrive represent a radical break from the past, it’s also good to remind ourselves that there is nothing completely new under the sun.
    Publication Date
    • 2020
    • 2020-01
    License
    • https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/
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