Over the last months, we at EU DisinfoLab, have raised concerns about the over-attention paid towards foreign disinformation. Disinformation is multifaceted, as we point out in a blog post. We felt uncomfortable with the lack of response to other forms of disinformation, such as some political disinformation, including the multiple false claims coming from the top of the US administration.
Let’s be honest: content moderation is extremely challenging for platforms. We have often been thinking that more could and should be done to tackle mis/disinformation while preserving freedom of speech. We have also been critical – or even very critical – of the platforms’ policies and their enforcement. We think there should be a middle way between doing nothing and 1984’s Ministry of Truth. Yesterday, the decision made by Twitter to add a warning label directing users to fact-checked information in one of Donald Trump’s tweets is, to us, a good example of what can be done to empower users to make an informed opinion – something which is especially crucial in the context of the democratic process.
Last but not least, tackling disinformation often goes together with being harassed. Our thoughts are with Twitter’s team – stay strong!
EU DisinfoLab
