A Conceptual Model for Approaching the Design of Anti-disinformation Tools

Abstract

With the increasing amounts of mis- and disinformation circulating online, the demand for tools to combat and contain the phenomenon has also increased. The multifaceted nature of the phenomenon requires a set of tools that can respond effectively, and can deal with the different ways in which disinformation can present itself, such as text, images, and videos, the agents responsible for spreading it, and the various platforms on which incorrect information is prevalent. In this paper, after consulting independent fact-checkers to create a list, we map the landscape of the most known tools that are available to combat different typologies of mis and disinformation on the basis of three levels of analysis: the employment of policy-regulated strategies, the use of co-creation, and the preference for manual or automated processes of detection. We then create a model in which we position the different tools across three axes of analysis, and show how the tools distribute across different market positions. The most crowded positions are characterized by tools that employ automated processes of detection, varying degrees of policy implementation, and low levels of co-creation, but there is an opening for newly developed tools that score high across all three axes. The interest in co-creative efforts in the challenge towards addressing mis- and disinformation could indeed be an effective solution to cater to the need of the users, and respond effectively to the amounts and variety of mis and disinformation spreading online.

Appendix

Here follows a table that lists tools onto the three axes that make up the model. Some tools of these are in competition some are complementary (Table 1).

Table 1. Selected tools and axes evaluation