Have you been misinformed?: Computational tools and analysis of our interactions with false and corrective information

Alani, Harith (2022). Have you been misinformed?: Computational tools and analysis of our interactions with false and corrective information. In: Companion Proceedings of the Web Conference 2022 (WWW '22), ACM, New York, NY, USA p. 428.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3487553.3526944

Abstract

Misinformation has always been part of humankind’s information ecosystem. The development of tools and methods for automatically detecting the reliability of information has received a great deal of attention in recent years, such as calculating the authenticity of images, calculating the likelihood of claims, and assessing the credibility of sources. Unfortunately, there is little evidence that the presence of these advanced technologies or the constant effort of fact-checkers worldwide can help stop the spread of misinformation. I will try to convince you that you also hold various false beliefs, and argue for the need for technologies and processes to assess the information shared by ourselves or by others, over a longer period of time, in order to improve our knowledge of our information credibility and vulnerability, as well as those of the people we listen to. Also, I will describe the benefits, challenges, and risks of automated information corrective actions, both for the target recipients and their wider audience.