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Internet Culture

Why disinformation spreads so quickly in online communities

People have bias. Algorithms have bias.

Photo of Matt Silverman

Matt Silverman

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While we love internet communities, it’s clear that some can seed and spread weaponized information at breakneck speeds. Platforms facilitate this, but social dynamics are also at work here. And if there’s any hope of squashing disinformation, it’s time to take a hard look at the communities that are incentivized to manufacture it.

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This week on 2 GIRLS 1 PODCAST, Alli and Jen talk with Bridget Todd, an activist and host of the podcast There Are No Girls on the Internet, whose recent series “Disinformed” is about making sense of how dangerous online information culminated in an insurrection at the Capitol.

Bridget explains why social media algorithms are biased toward disinformation, what you can do to stop the spread (even if you’re not an “influencer”), why “Pinterest Moms” aren’t helping, and why you don’t need to have a take on everything that happens in the news.

Listen to episode 164 of #2G1P here:

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The Daily Dot