Spotting Misinformation On Social Media Is Increasingly Challenging

Whether it is about the presidential election, climate change, or Covid-19 vaccines and the delta variant, misinformation continues to spread rampantly across social media. According to a Pew Research Service study from January, more than eight-in-ten U.S. adults (86 percent) said they get their news from a smartphone. It is easy to see why misinformation continues to spread.

While we may expect, even demand that the social platforms crack down on misinformation, there is little likelihood that Facebook, Twitter or YouTube will ever stamp out it. One reason is that it would take full-time policing of virtually all content, but then there is also the fact that these platforms depend on continued use.

Simply put, misinformation gets clicks.

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