The Struggle to Study Online Misinformation

September 27, 2023

Under increasing political pressure, multiple public and private institutions are revamping programs that study the spread of faulty information online, the Washington Post reports. But a series of articles in Issues argues for expanding research to better understand—and learn to navigate—today’s polluted information ecosystems. One key need, Claire Wardle writes, is to examine matters more broadly: “Researchers need to move away from our fixation on accuracy and zoom out to understand the characteristics of some of these online spaces that are powered by people’s need for connection, community, and affirmation.”