Theresa May has claimed the naughtiest thing she's ever done was to run through fields of wheat as a teenager. It may have been a puffy answer to get out of a potentially compromising question, but a more accurate answer might have been her continued eroding of a free and open internet.
Donald Trump's popularisation of the terminology fake news – which has since been named as the ‘word’ of the year – has recently led to knee-jerk reactions from politicians, including May. The latest plan from the government is to set up a "rapid response" unit to deal with the problems of fake news.
"We will build on existing capabilities by creating a dedicated national security communications unit," a government spokesperson has said. The unit was agreed to at a meeting of the National Security Council and builds on suggestions of a Cabinet Office-based "rapid response social media capability".
No details of the groups size have been revealed, but it will reportedly "be tasked with combating disinformation by state actors and others". It will also help to "deter" the actions of those creating fake news. This follow's France's promise to ban fake news during elections.
There's no doubt that online misinformation – as highlighted by the activities of Russian-state actors, fake ads, and news stories deliberately created to game algorithms for a quick buck – are a huge online problem. But fake news isn't an issue that can be boiled down to one simple definition or example. This makes identifying it incredibly complex – just ask Facebook and Twitter.
Swathes of Russian-based social media accounts have been created to gradually shape opinions. This isn't done with one single viral message, blog post, or article. It's achieved by spreading messages that people agree with, which feed into their echo chamber and reinforce their beliefs. When a propaganda account has built the trust of loyal readers, it may change its approach and start filtering more radical messages into the public consciousness. This is just one example of how fake news can work. In Macedonia, fake news has taken over a whole town that pumps out lies.
The impact of fake news is something that's very hard to prove. Huge amounts of misinformation are still being uncovered and studies into its influence are at an early stage. What can be confirmed is that mass misinformation campaigns focus on discrediting widely accepted narratives, take Syria's White Helmets for example.
If the fake news unit is to go ahead, there's a long list of things it should do before it starts work in earnest. It should publish what its definition of fake news is, reveal how many people are working inside of it, what the "deterrence" it plans to take is, and what its overall objectives are. How is success determined? Without knowing these basic principles, it will be very difficult for the public to determine the purpose, accountability and effectiveness of the new initiative.
It's also likely May's fake news unit won't have the resources to deal with problem at hand. Online tech monopolies have faced increasing pressure to stop the spread of misinformation, but despite a lot of bluster little has been done. Millions of tweets, Facebook posts, and YouTube videos are published each day. The problem isn't just one that can be tackled by a small team assembled by the UK government.
At the very least, the new unit has to be independent of government. If it isn't, then its very existence will become problematic. What may be considered 'fake news' to May and her unit may not be thought so by opponents. And when one of her politicians inaccurately claims something – whether on purpose or accidentally – will the unit reprimand them in the same way?
Ultimately, there are a large number of well-intentioned people already working on potential solutions to the myriad of fake news problems. Fact checkers are working with the tech platforms to educate their users and help identify misinformation; startups and students are building solutions that can flag false stories; and academics are trying to analyse its impact. If May's government really wants to tackle this growing problem, it would do better to help with these efforts instead of going it alone.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
