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I love how (academic) Twitter enables us to watch colleagues “think out lout”, as we grapple with current events. The recent shocking images from Washington have spawned a number of insightful comments on the role of misinformation on social media that I’d like to highlight. 1/11
Preface/full disclosure: I’ve long held that we're overemphasizing the role of “fake news” in current events. Disinformation cannot explain the rise of Trump, Brexit or AfD. But it's easy & convenient to blame social media, to assume voters are simply mislead by propaganda. 2/11
To be even more provocative, I believe we’re experiencing a bit of a “fake news” bubble in academia, an overinvestment in the analysis of social media disinformation. (Some of my thoughts on this, in German, can be found in this anthology 
). 3/11 https://www.halem-verlag.de/streitlust-und-streitkunst/
). 3/11 https://www.halem-verlag.de/streitlust-und-streitkunst/
So I’m excited to see some great thinkers publish calls to look beyond “fake news” on social media, and focus more on the political, social, economic and cultural roots of polarization, populism, authoritarianism & conspiracy theories. Here goes: 4/11
This piece by @shannimcg and @kreissdaniel is very prescient. Quote: "fears about misinformation have become the focus of public attention, when what we should be grappling with and addressing are deeper divides that cut to the core of the nation." 5/11 https://slate.com/technology/2020/10/misinformation-social-media-election-research-fear.html
@hugoreasoning's work is invaluable in this debate. Here's his recent thread on the events in Washington: 6/11 https://twitter.com/hugoreasoning/status/1347470916406697984?s=20
This thread by @jayvanbavel on the complexity of the forces culminating in the outbreak we witnessed in Washington is great: 7/11 https://twitter.com/jayvanbavel/status/1347271932228599821?s=20
In this thread, @j_a_tucker argues that social media are a tool that, depending on political context (and, I should add, political perspective), can be used for good or for bad - which is, of course, ultimately a deeply normative question. 8/11 https://twitter.com/j_a_tucker/status/1347221908463497219?s=20
There is a fascinating debate about the role of media literacy in the fight against disinformation. @blackgaygemini has a nice thread providing an overview. 9/11 https://twitter.com/blackgaygemini/status/1347283225769517056?s=20
If we accept that citizens aren't simply being mislead by "fake news" on social media, we realize that "media literacy" is not a panacea for the polarization we experience. For a passionate argument in this vein see this thread by @crystaljjlee 10/11 https://twitter.com/crystaljjlee/status/1347257503659118594?s=20
10/11 https://twitter.com/crystaljjlee/status/1347257503659118594?s=20
I may add more takes later. I am very encouraged by the debate moving beyond hot takes on the dangers of "fake news" on social media. These hot takes are usually superficial and largely wrong, and they can lead to counterproductive policy interventions. 11/11
Here's another insightful take by @M_B_Petersen It's not easy to pinpoint misinformation's place in a complex web of causalities... https://twitter.com/M_B_Petersen/status/1347571739782479872?s=20
It's not easy to pinpoint misinformation's place in a complex web of causalities... https://twitter.com/M_B_Petersen/status/1347571739782479872?s=20
A wonderful thread by @dannagal on why corrective information does very little to change minds. In the context of this thread 
an obvious point is: That's because it's not simply exposure to misinfo that "creates" a Congress-storming Trump-fanatic. https://twitter.com/dannagal/status/1347564455329214465?s=20
an obvious point is: That's because it's not simply exposure to misinfo that "creates" a Congress-storming Trump-fanatic. https://twitter.com/dannagal/status/1347564455329214465?s=20
@farkasjohan‘s book is a great resource to think about the discourse on „fake news“ - and beyond it 
https://twitter.com/farkasjohan/status/1347635814390505474
https://twitter.com/farkasjohan/status/1347635814390505474
