http://tech.newstatesman.com/guest-opinion/education-antidote-fake-news

Facebook’s ‘VP of ads’ Rob Goldman recently said on Twitter: “Disinformation is ineffective against a well-educated citizenry. Finland, Sweden and Holland have all taught digital literacy and critical thinking about misinformation to great effect.” Is education the best long-term solution to combat the prevalence of false news and disinformation online, and how suitable are our educational provisions in England and Wales?

The problem of disinformation on the internet and social media sowing confusion, undermining trust in expertise, and polarising opinion is only going to get worse. The technology used to create it is getting cheaper, easier to use, and much more sophisticated. Soon, it will offer the ability to do everything from accurately reproduce our voices to create bot powered viral memes from words that were never said and deeds that never happened. This technology is becoming democratised – more freely available and easier to use. It is also becoming easier to de-anonymise us, triangulate our needs and target us. It’s not necessary to even possess our data. Our profiles can be inferred from our friends, colleagues, and affiliates. As Zeynep Tufekci says, the tech industry, in its efforts to deliver value to advertisers, is developing technologies that are a gift to authoritarian regimes.