Former President Barack Obama, one of the most well-known and influential public figures on the planet, has joined the struggle to regulate social networks in order to combat disinformation.
Obama expressed great concern about the effects of fake news on democratic institutions. And he showed regret for not doing more during his tenure to stem the growth of the conspiratorial movements that discredited the 2016 and 2020 elections.
“One of the biggest reasons for the weakening of democracy is the profound shift in the way we communicate and consume information,” he said. “People are dying because of misinformation,” Obama said.
Obama warns of disinformation effects on democracy
In his speech at Stanford University, the former US president warned of the risks of spreading disinformation on platforms and the threat to democracy.
Barack Obama filed suit for editing as the keynote speaker at the “Challenges to Democracy in the Digital Information Realm” symposium held at Stanford University on April 21 by the Stanford Center for Cyber Policy and the Obama Foundation.
Speaking to a large audience for 60 minutes, the former president argued that tech companies should be regulated to stop the process of “weakening democratic institutions worldwide.”
According to him, big technologies are “turning some of humanity’s worst impulses” through social media platforms.
“The design of these platforms seems to be taking us in the wrong direction,” he analyzed.
The speech comes at a time when Obama is increasingly focusing his messages on what needs to be done about disinformation and the largely uncontrolled power wielded by big tech companies.
Therefore, it intensified calls for special legislation for social networks.
“Are we going to let democracy perish or are we going to heal it?” was questioned. “This is the choice.”
Obama also pointed to the serious effects of disinformation and fake news, including the manipulation of the 2016 and 2020 elections and the rise of anti-vaccine movements, which received even greater attention during the coronavirus pandemic.
“It is an incredible achievement that scientists have developed a safe and effective vaccine in record time.”
“However, despite what we’ve learned from clinical testing of the vaccine on millions of people around the world, nearly one in five Americans is still willing to put themselves and their families at risk rather than get vaccinated,” said the former US president.
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Impact of fake news on US elections
Barack Obama has been candid about his regrets about the election of Donald Trump, saying his administration has long known Russia is acting to manipulate US democracy, but has underestimated the effectiveness of the effort.
“What still bothers me is that I don’t understand how susceptible we are to lies and conspiracy theories.”
The 2020 US Senate report concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to tip the vote in favor of Trump, confirming what a previous report by the Justice Department pointed to.
In addition to influencing the results, disinformation and fake news have also caused “many Americans to reject the results of democratically sound elections,” adding that many Republicans doubted the legitimacy of Biden’s 2020 victory.
For the former president, many of these problems can be attributed to the decline in media literacy, the erosion of local news outlets, and the information overload as we encounter unlimited content every day.
“The sheer proliferation of conflicts, the fragmentation of information and audiences [nas redes sociais] “Obama has made democracy more complex,” he said.
Obama also declared disinformation “a threat to democracy”, citing Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump’s ally Steve Bannon.
“They understand that people don’t need to believe in information to undermine democratic institutions,” he said.
“They need to flood a country square with sewers. You have to ask enough questions, spread enough mud, plant enough conspiracy theories that citizens no longer know what to believe.”
“Once they lose trust in their leaders, in the media, in political institutions, in each other, in the possibility of truth, the game is won.”
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To curb misinformation, Obama proposes changes to business models
By targeting the business models of big tech companies, Obama said that “inflammatory content attracts engagement” and that “the veil of anonymity that platforms provide” facilitates the spread of misinformation.
That’s why strong regulation is needed to address the way social media companies design their business models and products, he said.
“These companies need to have another North Star beyond just making money and growing market share.”
In particular, Obama criticized the algorithms used by the platforms, defending them as “trade secrets” by major technologies. The former president said these mechanisms “should be subject to some level of public scrutiny and regulation.”
To do this, Obama expressed support for a bill introduced by US Senators Chris Coons, Amy Klobuchar and Rob Portman that would require social media companies to share certain data from the platform and allow it to be verified by independent researchers.
“As the world’s largest democracy, we must set a better example. We must be at the forefront of these discussions internationally, not in the background.”
“Social media is a tool. At the end of the day, vehicles don’t control us, we control them. It’s up to each of us to decide what we value and then use the tools given to us to support those values.”
Watch Barack Obama’s speech in full:
Disinformation is a threat to our democracy and will continue to be unless we work together to solve it. Follow us as I share some of my thoughts on what we can do now. https://t.co/6R6n3MOPPR
—Barack Obama (@BarackObama) 21 April 2022
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source: Noticias
