The Human Error Behind Fake News with David Rand

In this episode of the podcast, Brooke is joined by David Rand, professor of Management Science and Brain and Cognitive Sciences at MIT. Together, the two explore David’s research on misinformation, trying to understand why people believe fake news, why it is spread in the first place, and what people can do about it. Brooke and David also discuss real life applications of strategies to prevent misinformation, especially as it pertains to social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and news outlets.

Specific topics include:

The categories of fake news, including blatant falsehoods, hyperpartisan news, and health misinformation

The roles that bots, algorithms, and humans play in the dissemination of fake news

How algorithms fail to analyze why people pay attention to certain information

The tension between our preferences and our limited cognitive abilities

How our beliefs can be tied to our social identities

How media platforms can do create healthier ecosystems for information processing

Platforms’ imperative to be proactive, rather than playing catch up with misinformation

And does controlling the spread of misinformation infringe on the freedom of speech?