Disinformation: It’s History

Assumptions about the history of disinformation are everywhere in policy making, often taking the form of simplistic analogies with fascism or assertions of total novelty. But there can be more productive approaches. As Heidi Tworek explains, history enables us to open up our imaginations to alternative information ecosystems, to understand path dependency, to avoid offering simplistic silver-bullet solutions that have not worked in the past, and to identify where phenomena really are new, such as the scale of internet usage.

The founding World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement was designed for a unipolar world, in which inert goods and services were traded across borders that could be rigorously policed. In 2021, that framework is challenged on multiple fronts. Dan Ciuriak describes some of the problems the WTO faces in establishing a global regime to enhance not only the legitimacy and geographical coverage of e-commerce but also the institution’s own standing and relevance.

Donald Trump’s suit against the tech giants accuses them of censoring him by shutting down his accounts for violating their policies — which, make no mistake, they were right to do. But, Stephen Maher writes, like the proverbial stopped clock, Trump is occasionally correct himself. The tech giants have not demonstrated they can be trusted to responsibly handle the sword and shield Congress provided for them through the passing of Section 230 back in 1996. Trump’s complaints about Section 230 and his lawsuit will be useful if they lead to greater legal and political scrutiny of the clause.