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Archives: October 2020

There’s good evidence that some people find predictive models like FiveThirtyEight’s confusing, and an argument that they might keep people from voting. But 2016’s scars shouldn’t mean that voters have to be kept in the dark.
“To the extent that the mass media model we identify here is the primary driver of information disorder, it will not be cured by more fact checking on Facebook.”
“Where is a town crier when you need one?”
Plus: How Trump’s 2016 digital campaign sought to suppress the Black vote, and people on both sides of the political spectrum are vulnerable to misinformation about mail dumping.
The money, spread over three years and the entire globe, is welcome — but this is PR, not a product.
“There isn’t a good origin story for the virus, and so this information vacuum is allowing misinformation to circulate.”