Misinformation, Social Media, and the Effects on Society
Podcasts
Algorithms and the Media
Sophia Pearl Podolsky
Yuna Jeon
Yuna Jeon and Sophia Pearl Podolsky
Agneetta Moisio and Kathir Sathi Venkat
Marissa Tessier, Karen Chen Pu, and Olivia Ann (Livvy) Whitmore
About the Project
Flush with the spirit of techno-optimism (information wants to be free!), the internet promised liberation by eliminating barriers to information, and enabling its spread instantaneously and globally. However, in recent years we have seen that misinformation spreads equally rapidly, generating profound social repercussions. From filter bubbles and echo chambers to the cascading effects of conspiracy theories, this fellowship explored the spread of misinformation on a variety of social media platforms, interrogated its meaning and its strategies, and questioned the efficacy of unregulated free speech or simple hierarchies of credibility as antidotes to misinformation. To engage further with the topics covered in the fellowship, students recorded and produced podcasts as part of a developing series on media and society.
The Fellows
Giselle Fiestan, Yuna Jeon, Agneetta Moisio, Sophia Pearl Podolsky, Karen Chen Pu, Marissa Tessier, Kathir Sathi Venkat and Olivia Ann (Livvy) Whitmore
The Instructors
Melissa Mallon, Director of Peabody Library; Dir of Teaching & Learning Interim Manager Central Subject Librarians
Andy Wesolek, Director of Digital Scholarship & Scholarly Communications
Bobby Smiley, Director of the Divinity Library