{"id":7875,"date":"2020-04-05T14:46:29","date_gmt":"2020-04-05T13:46:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cassandravoices.com\/?p=7875"},"modified":"2020-04-05T14:46:29","modified_gmt":"2020-04-05T13:46:29","slug":"the-legal-challenge-of-preventing-future-misinfodemics-in-the-age-of-digital-activism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/casswp.eutonom.eu\/index.php\/2020\/04\/05\/the-legal-challenge-of-preventing-future-misinfodemics-in-the-age-of-digital-activism\/","title":{"rendered":"The Legal Challenge of Preventing Future Misinfodemics in the Age of Digital Activism"},"content":{"rendered":"

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic<\/a><\/span>, the world has seen a deluge of misleading advice, false rumours, and coordinated attempts to contravene expert advice. Over the years, it’s become popular to collectively refer to this as fake news.<\/span><\/p>\n

This was a term that gained traction throughout the 2016 Presidential Election in the United States, and has become a popular buzzword ever since. It was even the Collin\u2019s Dictionary Word of the Year<\/em> in 2017<\/span><\/a>,[1]<\/a> highlighting its impact in the cultural zeitgeist. While this phenomenon is not new, the current incarnation carries a significant digital difference. Technology<\/a><\/span> can foster the spread of false stories with unprecedented speed and efficiency.<\/span><\/p>\n

This was demonstrated during the Irish referendum to repeal the 8th amendment. Researchers out of UCC<\/a><\/span> showed that when people were given both true and fabricated stories about events in the run up to the referendum, participants, from both sides, recollected false stories, particularly about the other side.[2]<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

More recently, the discussion in Ireland has begun to probe the role of digital platforms in perpetuating the dangerous spread of ill-founded claims. It appears that in the time preceding each government announcement about COVID-19, instant messaging apps are flooded with false, misleading, and potentially harmful whispers.<\/span><\/p>\n

As these concerns grow, so too do calls for legal intervention. While this is necessary, and likely, important details must be hammered out in relation to risks associated with the delicate task of regulation in this area. In many cases, harmful false information does not affect everyone equally.<\/span><\/p>\n

In particular for elderly and vulnerable groups, the accuracy of medical information and advice can genuinely be a matter of life and death. This must also be considered when looking at how far-right campaigns attempt to weaponise digital platforms to lay the blame of COVID-19 against immigrants<\/a><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

At the moment, numerous claims with misleading and xenophobic undertones have characterised the social media landscape, with Chinese citizens being disproportionately targeted with abuse online.<\/span><\/p>\n

https:\/\/twitter.com\/Adriel_Kasonta\/status\/1245488720154898437<\/p>\n

In light of this, an important detail is emerging. Misinformation can be weaponised to target groups that are already marginalised. This must be acknowledged as regulatory solutions to misinformation continue to develop. While law could have a critical role in curtailing future misinfodemics <\/em>online, marginalised voices must be protected within these efforts. Within this protection, the potential for social media to platform underrepresented voices must be considered.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Importance of Digital Activism in Democracy<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

The objective of combating misinformation must not be viewed in isolation. While much more needs to be done in order to preserve the accuracy of information and news online, the Internet\u2019s democratic potential must not be undermined. Much of this potential is grounded in creating areas of unprecedented accessibility, where diverse and pluralistic voices can be amplified. This can be seen through the expansion of digital activism.<\/span><\/p>\n

Public opinion now widely regards the role of digital platforms as a valuable vehicle for initiating social change. In America, a 2018 study<\/a><\/span> demonstrated that 69% of citizens feel that social media platforms are critical in \u2018getting politicians to pay attention to issues\u2019, while 67% felt that they are important for \u2018creating sustained movements for social change.\u2019[3]<\/a> As well as enlarging the scope for democratic deliberation and participation, social media has facilitated new open forums for activism, while eroding previously robust structural barriers and allowing citizens to more directly amplify issues of public interest.<\/span><\/p>\n

In recent years, digital platforms have fueled numerous activist movements addressing racial and gender based societal problems. Two flagship social movements have showcased the potential for digital platforms to be a generative environment for social change. The Black Lives Matter movement brought attention to systemic racial injustices, while #MeToo drew global eyes to a wide spectrum of sexual harassment.<\/span><\/p>\n

While these two movements had separate social motives, both were operationalised by digital platforms that helped to consolidate harmonised messages, and mobilise international solidarity.<\/span><\/p>\n

The 2013 shooting of Trayvon Martin sparked a hashtag that drew attention to events involving unjust treatment and persecution by law enforcement and the criminal justice system. With further shootings by police in 2014, protests led to civil unrest, spurring use of the hashtag that galvanised a number of international \u2018chapters\u2019 adopting the same slogan.<\/span><\/p>\n

In doing so, social media platforms were instrumental in spawning an umbrella activist movement. After the 2014 shooting of 18 year old Michael Brown, the hashtag resurfaced. In the three weeks after this incident, #BlackLivesMatter appeared on social media approximately 58,747 times every day. When the judicial decision not to indict the police officer responsible for Brown’s death was issued on November 25th 2014, the hashtag was used 172,772 times.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Seattle's #BlackLivesMatter<\/a> March Honoring Anniversary Of Michael Brown's Death. #StopMurderousCops<\/a> #EndRacism<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/yN9K8y7tlR<\/a><\/p>\n

— #DisclosureIsNigh \ud83d\udc7d\u2728\ud83d\udef8\u26a1\ud83d\udef0 (@relombardo3) August 11, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n