Social Media Ownership and AI Pose Threats to Online News Integrity, Experts Warn

Social media owners top global survey of misinformation concerns

Co-founder of expert group says 'unchecked power of these entities poses grave risk' to news environment Social media owners, politicians and governments are the biggest threats to a trustworthy online news environment, according to an expert group studying misinformation whose work is modelled on the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The International Panel on the Information Environment (IPIE) said owners of social media platforms topped a survey of concerns, followed by domestic and foreign governments and politicians. The IPIE's co-founder Philip Howard, a professor of internet studies at the University of Oxford, said the report showed the global information environment was at a "critical juncture". "One of the most pressing concerns highlighted by our survey is the influence of social media platform owners. Their control over content distribution and moderation policies significantly impacts the quality and integrity of information. The unchecked power of these entities poses a grave risk to the health of our global information environment," he said. The panel's findings were based on responses from 412 academic researchers in fields including the social sciences, humanities and computer sciences, with contributions concentrated in the US and western Europe, although China, India, Nigeria and Brazil were among the other countries included. Howard said the term "information environment" referred to the organisations, content and people that underpinned the "daily news diet" of millions of people. The report does not identify specific tech platform owners but Howard, a co-author of the report, said Elon Musk's ownership of X - the platform formerly known as Twitter - had raised concerns including reports of excessive promotion of Musk's own tweets, while Frances Haugen, a whistleblower at Mark Zuckerberg's Meta, has claimed that the owner of Facebook and Instagram gives a lower priority to moderating non-English-language content. Howard added that TikTok, which is owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, was another source of concern after lawmakers on both sides of the Atlantic voiced fears it could be susceptible to pressure from the Chinese government. TikTok's CEO, Shou Zi Chew, said last year that the platform's owner was "not an agent of China or any other country", while Meta has said it reviews content on Facebook and Instagram in more than 70 languages. X has been approached for comment. About two-thirds of respondents to the survey expected the information environment to worsen in the future, compared with just over half in the previous survey. The IPIE launched as a non-governmental organisation last year after warning that biased algorithms, manipulation and misinformation were a "global and existential threat". The report warns that many politicians have "instrumentalised" conspiracy theories and misinformation for political gain, with the knock-on effect of eroding trust in reliable sources of information and democratic institutions. Nearly two-thirds of the experts surveyed felt that AI-generated videos, voice, images and text had had a negative effect on the information environment, with the same proportion "convinced" that it magnified the problem of misinformation. "Generative AI tools have offered novel opportunities to produce propaganda at scale," the report said. The top AI-related concern was AI-generated video, followed by voice. The survey found that experts in developing countries were more concerned about the negative effects of generative AI than experts in developed countries. A clear majority of respondents also found a positive side to AI, being "moderately hopeful" that it could bring benefits such as helping detect misleading content and aiding journalists to sift through large banks of data. The panel's findings were based on responses from 412 academic researchers in fields including the social sciences, humanities and computer sciences. Asked how to counter the problems highlighted in the report, respondents recommended promoting a free and independent media; implementing digital literacy campaigns; encouraging factchecking, and labelling misleading content.

Social media owners, generative AI biggest threats to online news: Experts warn - Times of India

A group of experts studying misinformation has found that the biggest threats to online news trustworthiness are social media platform owners, politicians, and governments. They also claim that the boom in generative AI amplifies the spread of misinformation. The International Panel on the Information Environment (IPIE) recently conducted a survey highlighting concerns over content distribution and moderation. The panel's findings were based on responses from over 400 academic researchers in fields including the social sciences, humanities and computer sciences from countries like the US, India and China, among others, the report said. "One of the most pressing concerns highlighted by our survey is the influence of social media platform owners," said the IPIE's co-founder Philip Howard, who is also a professor of internet studies at the University of Oxford, as per The Guardian. "Their control over content distribution and moderation policies significantly impacts the quality and integrity of information. The unchecked power of these entities poses a grave risk to the health of our global information environment," he said. While the report did not name any specific tech platforms, Howard pointed to concerns surrounding Elon Musk's ownership of X (formerly Twitter), saying that reports of Musk's tweets receiving disproportionate promotion. He also highlighted Frances Haugen, a whistleblower at Meta, who alleged that the company prioritises moderating English-language content over other languages on Facebook and Instagram. 'Rise of generative AI is another concern' Adding to the concerns, the rise of generative AI is seen as amplifying the spread of misinformation. The report says that two-thirds of the surveyed experts believe AI-generated content has negatively impacted the information environment. "Generative AI tools have offered novel opportunities to produce propaganda at scale," the report added. However, the report also acknowledges the potential positive applications of AI, claiming that AI can be "moderately hopeful" in areas such as helping detect misleading content. The TOI Tech Desk is a dedicated team of journalists committed to delivering the latest and most relevant news from the world of technology to readers of The Times of India. TOI Tech Desk's news coverage spans a wide spectrum across gadget launches, gadget reviews, trends, in-depth analysis, exclusive reports and breaking stories that impact technology and the digital universe. Be it how-tos or the latest happenings in AI, cybersecurity, personal gadgets, platforms like WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook and more; TOI Tech Desk brings the news with accuracy and authenticity.