How central are social and search platforms in spreading propaganda and misinformation—and what can be done to improve the quality of online information? To explore these questions, Kelly Born of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation hosted the second in a series of webinars about how funders can help fight “fake news.”

While disinformation and propaganda are long-standing problems, Born identified several distinct elements of the current environment. Among other factors, these include the democratization of information creation, the social nature of information sharing, the shift of news production from brands to individuals, the role anonymity plays in allowing for both bots and foreign intervention, and the increasing level of content personalization and microtargeting.

Three big questions, [Nate] Persily said, are what effect disinformation is actually having on people’s attitudes and behavior, whether online echo chambers are more influential than offline ones, and which interventions make a difference. There is no shortage of opportunity for experiments—but the need to fund them is great.

Read the full article by Jessica Clark about misinformation from Media Impact Funders