Growing numbers of platforms.
By Mohar Chatterjee
Technology Reporter
POLITICO
Users today have a greater number of platforms available to them compared to the days of the 2018 Cambridge Analytica scandal that cost Meta $725 million — a shifting landscape that comes with its own set of challenges. Those platforms are more opaque when it comes to how information spreads and feed off of partisan tribalism, according to critics.
For hardcore Trump supporters, there’s Truth Social; for those wanting both group chats and dedicated channels in their social media, there’s Telegram; and for people tired of Elon Musk’s antics on Twitter, there’s BlueSky. The list goes on.
As online communities continue to splinter, researchers are worried it will be difficult to track how social media platforms are being used to shape people’s views, or how these platforms will affect future elections. Those fears are compounded by the rapid development of artificial intelligence, which is being used to create political ads, or to disseminate deepfakes that could undermine democratic principles.
“The platforms that we’re looking at in the context of both mis and disinformation have significantly fragmented,” said Nick Loui, co-founder and CEO of PeakMetrics, a company that helps governments and large enterprises identify and combat disinformation campaigns. “It’s much more demographic — and psychographic — specific.”
“We’re in an environment that is very much focused around tribalism,” he added.
READ ENTIRE ARTICLE AT POLITICO
