Shared narratives are an essential part of community-building. We tell stories about who we are, why we’re here, and what we believe—thereby creating trust and identity. But a deluge of disinformation puts all of this at risk. From conspiracy theorists to coordinated campaigns, when bad information floods the public square, people lose the ability to tell fact from fiction. To strengthen trust, we must enact stronger content moderation that prevents lies from spreading, create media that shares the truth, and invest in the infrastructure needed to keep communities informed of the facts.

This week, In Focus takes a closer look at how information impacts—and is impacted by—the ongoing crisis of fractured trust. We’ll hear from experts and activists on the importance of accessibility, reliability, and credibility.

The good news about the 2022 midterm elections is that disinformation and misinformation didn’t push the country into another existential crisis. The bad news? False information is still out there generating mistrust. This week, in a session at Aspen Digital’s Cyber Summit, three noted cybersecurity experts discussed strategies for keeping it in check.

What’s new

The fever is breaking, perhaps. This November’s election shows that a majority of voters are done with conspiracy thinking and less susceptible to disinformation campaigns. Content moderation seems to have worked, especially among those spreading election denial, but there are still entire cultures built around misinformation.

Key strategies for restoring trust

• Prebunking: This means going on the offense, warning people ahead of time that they’ll be targeted, and telling them how and why it’s going to happen.

• Regulation: Though Europe’s Digital Services Act might be challenged as unconstitutional in the US, it’s a model that may become the de facto standard for regulating misinformation.

• Transparency: When officials and experts communicate clearly and honestly, there’s less room for conspiracy to grow.

What’s next

Leaders have to lead. We can’t continue to humor those who peddle misinformation.

Watch the full session to understand how disinformation works, how to recognize it, and how different actors—foreign and domestic—weaponize it differently.

Native students struggled with unstable internet connections before the pandemic, but the switch to remote learning turned the issue into a crisis. Triston Black has witnessed the consequences of poor broadband infrastructure throughout the Navajo Nation. The 2022 Center of Native American Youth Champion for Change shed light on tribal communities’ growing need for high-speed internet in an op-ed for Teen Vogue. Unreliable connections have a devastating impact on educational attainment and limit media awareness and access to information. Black implores funders and Native leadership to develop and deploy broadband services to bridge the digital divide.

Read the article here.

Building Trust in an Age of Disinformation

Aspen Digital Executive Director Vivian Schiller recently joined The New CCO podcast to discuss how business and media can build trust in a time rife with disinformation. Though she says we’ve never had as much high-quality journalism as we do now, there are consequences to an oversaturated market—some credible sources may be drowned out by those who don’t value accuracy or authenticity. This is why media players must be responsible for holding industry peers accountable and safeguarding reliable information sources.

Catch a couple clips over on our Instagram account, or listen to the full episode here.

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