Babbage: Why disinformation is more dangerous than ever

Disinformation—falsehoods that are intended to deceive—is on the rise. AI is making it easier to create deceptive content, while social media enables it to spread faster than ever before. With half the world’s population heading to polls in 2024, this presents a growing threat to democracy. There is a glimmer of hope, though. Scientists are starting to understand the technology and tactics behind disinformation campaigns, opening up new possibilities to fight them. Can countries and companies come together to fend off fake media?

Host: Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor. Contributors: Tom Standage, The Economist’s deputy editor; Hollie Berman, a news editor at The Economist; Ainslie Johnstone, our data and science correspondent.

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