SMC logo UPDATE

Misinformation –

Researchers, policymakers, and users have identified several key issues with the social media ecosystem. These include vast power held by a few corporations, which hurts innovation and competition; the spread of false news and debates about the limits of free speech; how social media threatens privacy, election integrity, and democracy; and platform oversight and transparency.

 

The Social Media Summit @ MIT brought together experts to discuss these issues and focus on solutions, which range from new oversight panels to breaking up big companies.

 

“Social media is rewiring the central nervous system of humanity in real time,” said MIT Sloan professorSinan Aral, who led the event. “We’re now at a crossroads between its promise and its peril.”

 

A new report from the summit, now available online, takes a deep look at the range of problems posed by existing social media models, and offers 25 potential solutions to address them.

Here’s a look at seven areas of concern addressed at the summit, and just a few of the potential solutions. 

 

1. The spread of false news and misinformation

False news spreads quickly online, aided by social media algorithms that amplify popular, and often incendiary, content. And social media companies and their advertisers often benefit from it, Aral noted.

 

One solution is to crack down on the most prolific offenders, said Clint Watts, a research fellow with the Foreign Policy Institute. “We know about them, and [enforcement] needs to focus there for

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