In the introduction to The Misinformation Age, O’Connor and Weatherall pose the provocative question, “Can democracy survive in an age of fake news?” (6). So here is your prompt for this essay: How might misinformation threaten our democratic society? What are the various threats misinformation poses to democracy? In what ways could misinformation work to weaken our democratic society? Here are a few interconnected issues with some questions to get you started:
Elections:
How can misinformation work to influence voters’ perceptions of candidates and/or issues, and hence the choices they make on election day?
How can misinformation impact the “machinery” of elections, that is, the work of poll workers and election administrators?
Political polarization:
What is polarization, and how does it threaten democracy?
How does disinformation – foreign and/or domestic – feed polarization?
How do social media algorithms feed polarization?
Voter participation and suppression:
How can misinformation serve to undermine voters’ participation in elections?
How can misinformation be used to disenfranchise voters?
“Election denying”:
How does disinformation surrounding the 2020 election results threaten to undermine democracy?
AI/deepfakes:
How might AI and/or the creation and use of “deepfakes” serve to threaten democracy?
Link for sources
https://apnews.com/article/artificial-intelligence-elections-disinformation-chatgpt-bc283e7426402f0b4baa7df280a4c3fd
https://theconversation.com/deepfakes-are-still-new-but-2024-could-be-the-year-they-have-an-impact-on-elections-224786
America’s Election Officials Fight Disinformation and Death Threats Ahead of 2024
https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/supreme-court-case-could-be-disastrous-detecting-election-misinformation