Blog Assignment #4

For this week’s assignment, I will be looking at two digital platforms and how they are curbing fake and false information. The platforms that I will be talking about are Discord and Reddit. I am not very familiar with these platforms, and I thought it would be interesting to find out more about them. Let’s go!

Discord is a well-known platform that allows individuals to communicate online. People are able to communicate via video, text, and voice. It has been around for about ten years and people use it to also game, socialize, learn, and stream. In 2022, Discord had released a brand-new set of policies to help prevent the spread of misleading information as well as harmful actions by users and groups. After Covid-19 became a pandemic in 2020, Discord wanted to tackle the issues of spreading false health information as well. These policies prevented anyone from posting dishonest information that could put people in harm and that may endanger public health. Many anti-vaxxers had been against the shots for covid and were purposely posting misleading and dangerous information on Discord. This could seriously put others health at risk if they believed it. Posts that contained information like this were automatically removed. In addition, Discord will put criminal charges against any users that show risky behavior. Discord will focus on the highest potential threats possible to protect other users. You can find more information with the link to this article here: Discord Rolls Out New Policy That Tackles Health Misinformation.

Discord is very much committed to providing a safe online experience for its users. They do not tolerate false information that is likely to cause harm and danger. Discord only relies on credible sources for health information and other types of information. Users may not engage in civic disruption and risky information about civic processes will be removed. If users are not sure whether a piece of information violates the procedures that must not post it. Users must also fact-check their postings before releasing them. More policies and procedures can be found with the link here: Misinformation Policy Explainer | Discord

Discord’s policies and procedures appear to be very important based on what I know about misinformation. However, I do not have any experience with using this digital platform. Misinformation has increased greatly over the years and will only get worse with the continuous advancements in technology. I think Discord’s policies are very well spoken. The policies I mentioned above should do well in curbing dishonest content and information.

Many digital platforms need to take more responsibility for the information that is shared on their sites. More tools need to be developed to reduce the spread of false information. For example, high technical AI tools can be designed to delete false information and fact-check all content. Many actions regulated by big social media companies have had little impact on the reduction of misinformation. Many solutions are still needed and in this day in age, it requires a big commitment from large companies to stop the misinformation releases.

Here is the link to the article: Misinformation in the Digital Age: New Challenges, New Solutions | Web Stat

Discord’s policies seem to be curbing the release of misinformation. More technical tools, however, need to be developed to curb misinformation. More fact-checking sources need to be designed as well. These recommendations will hopefully decrease the spread of false and harmful information. Tools, such as the ones previously mentioned, will block out harmful content and will prevent it from being shared.

Reddit is a large group of forums where users can chat, ask, and talk about any topic of interest. It has many users that cite their sources and links and stating evidence as to why they think the way they do. There are still people, however, that do not act in good faith. Reddit also does not have the resources like Twitter and Facebook has. It instead has a team of moderators that are not paid fact-checkers. If Reddit discovers false news that is not true, it encourages their users to fact-check it on their own. Here is the article link: Managing Misinformation On Reddit : NPR

Reddit is a forum that respects all users and the community. Reddit is a site for creating and belonging. It will not tolerate any type of harassment. All users must go by community rules and respect other’s privacy. In addition, users must not share abusive content involving minors. People are not required to use their real name on Reddit; however, they may not pretend to be someone else. People must now what they are experiencing by labeling content. All postings must be legal and do not engage in any action that would interfere with Reddit’s usual usage. Here is the link for more information: Reddit Rules

I have never really been a user on Reddit, so I do not have much experience with it. The policies above are very important, especially in today’s society of misinformation. Still. much needs to be done to stop the release of fake content by all digital platforms. Fact-checking tools can be beneficial to reduce false information.

Reddit’s policies appear to work, however, there will always be misinformation that gets released. Software, such as advanced fact-checking sources should take place. Media literacy training can also be very worthwhile for companies and their employees.

I feel that my recommendations will move the needle on misinformation by tackling the causes of fake news. Fact-checking sources generated by AI can help online users decide whether something is true or not. Here is a link to the article: How AI-Powered Fact-Checking Can Help Combat Misinformation | Ivy Exec Media literacy training educates people to be able to spot fake content, make the right choices, and determine the reliability of articles and sources. It lets people assess the information that they are consuming. Here is the article with more information: Why is media literacy important, in school and in society?