Misinformation Matters: Online Content and Quality Analysis

What is "misinformation"? Why does it matter? How does it spread on the internet, especially on social media platforms? What can we do to counteract the worst of its effects? Can we counteract its effects now that it is ubiquitous? These are the questions we answer in this book. We are living in an information age (specifically an "algorithmic age") which prioritizes information "quantity" over "quality". Social media has brought billions of people from across the world together online and the impact of diverse platforms, such as Facebook, WeChat, Reddit, LinkedIn, Signal, WhatsApp, Gab, Instagram, Telegram, and Snapchat, has been transformational.

The internet was created, with the best of intentions, as an online space where written content could be created, consumed and diffused without any real intermediary. This empowering aspect of the web is still, mostly, a force for good. People, on the whole, are better informed and online discussion is more inclusive because barriers to participation are reduced. As activity online has grown, however, an expanding catalogue of research reveals a darker side to social media, and the internet generally. Namely, misinformation's ability to negatively influence our behaviour both online and offline.

The solution we provide to this growing dilemma is informed by Ludwig Wittgenstein's Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, which examines the relationship between language and reality from a philosophical perspective, and complements Claude Shannon's Information Quantity Theory, which addresses the quantification, storage and communication of digital information from a mathematical perspective. The book ends by setting out a model designed by us: a "Wittgensteinian" approach to information quality. It defines content published online by clarifying the propositions and claims made within it. Our model's online information quality check allows users to effectively analyse the quality of trending online content. This approach to misinformation analysis and prevention has been designed to be both easy to use and pragmatic. It upholds freedom of speech online while using the "harm principle" to categorise problematic content.

「誤訊息」是什麼？為什麼它很重要？它在互聯網上，特別是社交媒體平台上如何傳播？我們可以做些什麼來對抗它最嚴重的影響？現在它已經無所不在，我們還能對抗它的影響嗎？這些是我們在這本書中回答的問題。我們生活在一個信息時代（具體來說是一個「算法時代」），這個時代將信息的「數量」置於「質量」之上。社交媒體將來自世界各地的數十億人聚集在線上，Facebook、微信、Reddit、LinkedIn、Signal、WhatsApp、Gab、Instagram、Telegram和Snapchat等多樣的平台產生了深遠的影響。

互聯網最初是出於最好的意圖而創建的，作為一個在沒有實際中介的情況下創建、消費和傳播書面內容的線上空間。這種賦予人們權力的網絡方面在很大程度上仍然是一種正面力量。整體而言，人們的信息更為全面，線上討論更具包容性，因為參與的障礙減少了。然而，隨著線上活動的增長，越來越多的研究揭示了社交媒體和互聯網的陰暗面。換句話說，誤訊息對我們的線上和線下行為產生了負面影響。

我們提供的解決方案受到路德維希·維特根斯坦的《邏輯哲學論》的啟發，該書從哲學的角度探討語言和現實之間的關係，並與克勞德·香農的信息數量理論相輔相成，後者從數學的角度處理數字信息的量化、存儲和傳播。本書最後提出了我們設計的一個模型：一種「維特根斯坦式」的信息質量方法。它通過澄清在線上發布的內容中的命題和主張，來定義在線上發布的內容。我們模型的在線信息質量檢查使用戶能夠有效分析熱門在線內容的質量。這種對誤訊息分析和預防的方法旨在既易於使用又務實。它在維護線上言論自由的同時，使用「傷害原則」對問題內容進行分類。

The authors are the co-founders of Avram Turing, a research organisation focused on misinformation prevention online and content analysis.

Uyiosa Omoregie is the principal analyst at Avram Turing. He attended West Buckland School in England, U.K. He is an alumnus of the University of London (The London School of Economics as lead college). He is a member of the Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR), the Canadian Association for Information Science and the Canadian Academy of Independent Scholars. He is a referee for the Journal of Information Science (SAGE Publishing) and Misinformation Review (Harvard University).

Kirsti Ryall, is the principal researcher at Avram Turing. She attended West Buckland School in England, U.K. She holds a degree in English Literature. She previously worked in advertising, marketing, and fundraising roles as a graphic designer, copywriter, proof-reader, and as a trainer helping others on how best to present their work. She is a member of the Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR).

作者是 Avram Turing 的共同創辦人，該組織專注於網絡上的虛假信息預防和內容分析。

Uyiosa Omoregie 是 Avram Turing 的首席分析師。他在英國的 West Buckland School 就讀，並畢業於倫敦大學（倫敦政治經濟學院作為主要學院）。他是互聯網研究協會（AoIR）、加拿大信息科學協會和加拿大獨立學者學院的成員。他是《信息科學期刊》（SAGE出版社）和《虛假信息評論》（哈佛大學）的審稿人。

Kirsti Ryall 是 Avram Turing 的首席研究員。她在英國的 West Buckland School 就讀，並擁有英國文學學位。她曾在廣告、市場營銷和籌款方面擔任平面設計師、文案撰寫師、校對員和培訓師等職位，幫助他人更好地展示他們的工作。她是互聯網研究協會（AoIR）的成員。