Social media amplifies timeless misinformation tactics rather than inventing them

Evidence

The fact remains that, even though WhatsApp and other social media networks may not be the root cause of larger societal tensions, they act as a massive amplifier of misinformation. The technology has fundamentally changed how information spreads and how people interact with each other online. Still, maybe there’s little difference between present-day populist politics and say, the smear campaign Octavian ran and the way it tapped into prejudiced narratives about foreigners over two thousand years ago. While admittedly the parallels are striking, social media has found a new way to shape, influence, and amplify those biases too. — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof, 361

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the Octavian smear campaign example and general literature on ancient political propaganda vs. modern misinformation. — connects to: New media cycles repeatedly exaggerate the internet’s power to transcend ordinary social forces — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity,…, 58; Messaging platforms amplify misinformation but are not its root cause — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects…, 357; Social media changed misinformation’s speed, reach, and social context — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects…, 314 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Social media’s novelty is the speed, reach, and medium of disinformation, not its existence #corroborates (0.92) — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof, 326
• Social media changed misinformation’s speed, reach, and social context #expands (0.85) — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof, 314