Katherine Brodsky at MOME: Manufacturing Truth in the Digital Age

Manufacturing Truth in the Digital Age
 
Technology has democratized access to information and journalism—and has given rise to ‘citizen journalists’ who are able to provide powerful eyewitness accounts globally. Thanks to the Internet, news can be reported faster than ever.
 
But there’s a dark side too.
The pursuit of truth is getting increasingly more difficult, and the manufacturing of it—easier.   These days, there are plenty of fake news stories that spread quickly through social networks with the help of bot farms before making their way into the mainstream. Algorithms learn about what readers like and give them of it. How far away are we before those same algorithms are used to influence our decisions? Or are we already there? It’s been said that a picture is worth a thousand words. Enter photoshop. A video is worth more. But what happens when you can’t believe your own eyes and ears? Is it a deep-fake or real person speaking? Are you sure you can tell?
 
It's getting harder than ever to know what is true and easier than ever to manipulate audiences. How do we find we find truth?