#148: Fake News and Filter Bubbles

Tech Policy Podcast

TechFreedom

Technology

4.8 • 45 Ratings

🗓️ 21 December 2016

⏱️ 32 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The shocking outcome of the presidential election has spurred many journalists, pundits and politicians to look for some explanation as to why people voted the way they did. “Fake news” has been a particularly popular scapegoat with many have claimed that false information alone tipped the election in Trump’s favor. But is fake news as widespread and influential as some are claiming? Are political opinions that easily changed? Do our filter bubbles make us more likely to believe outlandish stories? Will Facebook’s new efforts to combat the spread of fake stories work? Will Rinehart, Director of Technology and Innovation Policy at American Action Forum, joins the show to discuss. For more, see his op-ed in Real Clear Future.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to the Tech Policy Podcast. I'm Evan Swartstraver. On today's show, fake news and the election.
0:08.8	The surprise result in this election has caused a lot of finger pointing, and many in the mainstream media and disgruntled Democrats have pointed the finger at fake news.
0:16.5	Is it possible that the proliferation of fake information, particularly on Facebook and other social
0:21.8	media sites, could actually swing the election. Joining me to discuss this is Will Reinhart,
0:26.6	Director of Technology and Innovation Policy at the American Action Forum. Will, thanks for joining
0:30.5	the show. Thanks for having me. Well, before we begin, I know we work in the same field,
0:35.3	but I feel like I see you at basically every single
0:37.9	event that I go to these days, and it's kind of creepy. So do you care to explain yourself on the show
0:43.2	before our listeners? Well, I mean, we're in the same space. We do generally the same things. I used to
0:48.7	work at Tech Freedom, so I'm kind of interested in the same topics. So it kind of makes sense, right? But we also,
0:55.3	every event, like every single one. I don't think that it's every single event. I actually, I'm going
1:00.9	to start counting. I'm going to start counting the events that I go to that I do not see you.
1:04.8	Well, I'm going to write a fake news story about you being a creeper and following me around to events.
1:12.0	Well, anyway, so will.
1:12.7	It's a small world.
1:14.4	It really is a small world in tech policy world.
1:16.3	I mean, you see people consistently.
1:18.6	Yeah, a lot of nerds, a lot of Star Wars fans.
1:19.5	That's true.
1:20.0	That's true.
1:20.8	Everyone's seen it.
1:21.9	Everyone's arguing about it. I have not seen it yet.
	...

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