To tackle online misinformation, we must focus on the audience, rather than the messaging, says a Swansea University academic.
Trouble flares during an anti-immigration protest outside the Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham, England, Aug 4, 2024. and even rioting in British towns and cities in recent days have many wondering how to stop the spread of the propaganda that encourages racism, violence and misogyny.
Misleading messages about the Southport attack were posted online and Reform Member of Parliament Nigel Farage “questioned” whether we were being lied to about the Southport attacker’s identity . They will post calls to “build a wall” and “stop the boats”. They will claim “those kids were murdered in the name of Islam”. Factual accuracy is not important, what matters is that those who wield online influence identify and target a powerbase.
This chimes with the work of propagandist theorist Jacques Ellul, who argued that myths were central and necessary to successful propaganda.Commentary: Some people who share fake news think they’re helping the world Such myths are also fundamental in the process of generating “agitation” propaganda. Traditionally, agitation propaganda is the casus belli summoned by states to send people to war.
This is better than playing fake news whack-a-mole. Once we have identified the silos of information, we can target the algorithms that create them, and those being targeted or isolated.
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