L'internet a-t-il détruit la démocratie ?

This talk will liken disinformation to the current pandemic, drawing parallels between virus and disinformation as contagions which target vulnerable populations and share characteristics such as super spreaders and super spreading events and platforms. The talk discusses the organization and structure of disinformation campaigns and how this is the new form of warfare for nation states (and the benefits of such warfare versus conventional and even nuclear war). It discusses how the consequence of unbridled disinformation campaigns threaten the foundation of democratic states and have long term consequences for not just democracy but also public health and the environment. The talk also covers why social media platforms are not currently incentivized to address this and how addressing this form solely a content perspective will not work. Lastly the talk proposes a policy/technical alternative that creates a shortcut for the user in terms of distinguishing trustable versus not trustable platforms.