In this episode, SIS professor Samantha Bradshaw joins Big World to discuss the spread of disinformation online in the US.

Over the last decade in the United States, disinformation is a topic that has dominated discussions surrounding elections, political campaigns, COVID-19, and more.

Bradshaw, who is a leading expert on new technologies and democracy, begins our discussion by explaining her definition of disinformation (1:41) and overviews the factors that have contributed to the rise of disinformation in the US over the last decade (2:41). Bradshaw also identifies the kinds of groups who primarily spread disinformation in the United States (5:40).

Are people being targeted with disinformation roughly equally, or do disparities exist between racial and ethnic groups (8:41)? What does Bradshaw think about the methods social media companies are using to combat the spread of disinformation (11:55)? Bradshaw answers these questions and discusses her research into Russian trolling operations (15:16) and press freedom (24:03) before rounding out the episode with some thoughts on disinformation and AI (27:00).

In the “Take 5” segment (18:53), Bradshaw answers the question: What five policies would you want to see enacted in the US to address disinformation?