Skip Navigation

Misinformation and false statements continue to plague social media sites

FILE PHOTO: This Oct. 23, 2019, file photo shows Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifying  before a House Financial Services Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington.

 Andrew Harnik / AP Photo

FILE PHOTO: This Oct. 23, 2019, file photo shows Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifying before a House Financial Services Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington.

Listen to Smart Talk every weekday at 9am and 7pm on WITF 89.5 & 93.3. You can also stream WITF radio live on our website or ask your smart speaker to “Play WITF Radio.”

Airdate: Wednesday, October 13, 2021

Social media giant Facebook is facing allegations of putting profit over safety.

A previously anonymous whistleblower recently revealed thousands of pages of internal documents alleging the company “deceived the public and investors about their ability to deal with hate speech and misinformation on the platform.”

Allegations of misinformation on the social media site have plagued Facebook since the 2016 election, only this time there appears to be documents that support the assertions.

Fighting online misinformation in the social media age is a constant battle and is often left to the discretion of platform users. Misinformation and the impact it can have on daily lives is significant, particularly in the tense political climate today.

Joining Smart Talk Wednesday to discuss the role of misinformation in our cultural climate are Dannagal Young, Ph.D., Professor of Communication and Political Science at the University of Delaware, author of Irony and Outrage: the Polarized Landscape of Rage, Fear, and Laughter in the United States. Also on the program, Sinan Aral, Ph.D., Professor of Management, Marketing and IT at MIT Sloan School of Management and author of The Hype Machine: How Social Media Disrupts our Elections, Our Economy, and Our Health — and How We Must Adapt

Support for WITF is provided by:

Become a WITF sponsor today »

Support for WITF is provided by:

Become a WITF sponsor today »

Up Next
Smart Talk

Federal flood insurance rates changing and policy owners could feel the pinch