Messaging platforms amplify misinformation but are not its root cause

Evidence

It would be a mistake to blame it all on WhatsApp. In fact, although WhatsApp and other instant-messaging platforms act as important amplifiers, they are not in and of themselves the root cause of the problem. Commentators have observed something very important about the situation in India that ties back to a theme we have been discussing throughout: the dance between ‘reasoning’ and ‘motivation’. For example, it is true that many villagers in rural India often have low levels of digital literacy. In our own study with WhatsApp only half the sample indicated that they felt confident in their ability to discern fact from fiction on the platform. — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof, 357

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the India misinformation reporting and the existing theme of reasoning versus motivation from earlier in Foolproof. — connects to: WhatsApp rumors may merely license violence people already want to commit — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects…, 360; Social media amplifies timeless misinformation tactics rather than inventing them — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects…, 361; Social media changed misinformation’s speed, reach, and social context — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects…, 314 (+5 more)

Broader Connections

• Social media amplifies rather than causes pre-existing biases in susceptible users #corroborates (0.95)
• Social media amplifies timeless misinformation tactics rather than inventing them #corroborates (0.92) — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof, 361
• Social media changed misinformation’s speed, reach, and social context #qualifies (0.85) — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof, 314
• Social platforms are culpable for fake news but culpability is not remediation #expands (0.80) — Cailin O’Connor and James Owen Weatherall, The Misinformation Age, 577
• Improved communication technology increases misunderstanding between groups #corroborates (0.72) — James W. Carey, Communication as Culture- Essays on…, 640