Historical examples of misinformation and disinformation
At the beginning of the course, there was a lot of time devoted to covering historical examples of misinformation and disinformation from the era of yellow journalism to The War of the Worlds broadcast to Second World War propaganda. To what extent does this suggest that misinformation and disinformation in an ongoing problem? Or is it one that is more likely to emerge under certain social, cultural, political, and technological circumstances? Use examples to support your answer.
If you were a policy advisor to the Canadian government, what regulations and rules, if any, would you propose with regards to curbing media misinformation and disinformation, including political speech, paid advertising and news, on social media platforms? How would you implement these regulations given the international scope of these platform? Please explain your answer.
Trust and mistrust have been big themes in this course. How has trust played a role in the spread of misinformation and disinformation related to COVID? Considering either individuals, governmental organizations, news outlets, the medical community, or any other institutions, what have some of those groups or people done to gain or lose your trust during the pandemic?
Beginning in the first week, there were four themes (or big factors) that have played a role in the recent rise of misinformation and disinformation. Those four are: power/influence, technology, capitalism, and distrust. Which of those four do you think has been the most important factor? Please explain and justify your answer.
Will Donald Trump’s use of traditional and social media as well as disinformation serve as a template for future politicians in the U.S. (or elsewhere)? Or did a combination of unique social, political, and technological circumstances allow for his rise?