18. The Science of Social Media Misinformation w/ Filippo Menczer

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Social media has become the primary source of news for millions, and yet it’s not in the business of giving people reliable or accurate information. I’ll be talking to Indiana University computer scientist Filippo Menczer about the way social media divides us, manipulates us and deceives us. We talk about bad actors who set up deceptive automated accounts, called bots, and about the recent Scientific American piece he co-authored, Information Overload Helps Fake News Spread, and Social Media Knows it. He’ll also recount what happened when he became the target of a disinformation campaign.

“Follow the Science" is produced, written, and hosted by Faye Flam, with funding by the Society for Professional Journalists. Today’s episode was edited by Seth Gliksman with music by Kyle Imperatore. If you’d like to hear more "Follow the Science," please like, follow, and subscribe!