Tracking the impact of fake news on us election cycles

Omar Alkhalili, Stefan A. Robila

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

Abstract

Access to accurate information is paramount to sound decision-making, improves societal trust in governmental and civil society structures and builds civic unity. Disinformation impacts societies' well-being, physical and mental health, financial welfare and even the ability to withstand external aggression. Changes in the way that individuals acquire information resulted in new approaches to influence society. In politics, disinformation is a growing concern, threatening the credibility of democratic processes. This paper investigated the degree to which misinformation was present during recent US election years by analyzing data on two major social media platforms. The findings show that such events are connected to increases in disinformation activity despite efforts taken by social media companies.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationGoodIT 2021 - Proceedings of the 2021 Conference on Information Technology for Social Good
PublisherAssociation for Computing Machinery, Inc
Pages192-197
Number of pages6
ISBN (Electronic)9781450384780
DOIs
StatePublished - 9 Sep 2021
Event1st Conference on Information Technology for Social Good, GoodIT 2021 - Rome, Italy
Duration: 9 Sep 202111 Sep 2021

Publication series

NameGoodIT 2021 - Proceedings of the 2021 Conference on Information Technology for Social Good

Conference

Conference1st Conference on Information Technology for Social Good, GoodIT 2021
Country/TerritoryItaly
CityRome
Period9/09/2111/09/21

Keywords

  • Disinformation
  • Elections
  • Facebook
  • Fake news
  • Misinformation
  • Social media
  • Twitter

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