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CHAPTER FIVE

Fighting Fake News and Other

Manipulation Techniques

Around the world, there is a growing debate on how to fi x the
problem of fake news and other online public manipulation. Vari-
ous solutions have surfaced. One solution places responsibility
for policing online content on social media and technology com-
panies. Another is for governments to regulate access to online
platforms. A third solution pushes the idea that users need to

educate themselves about the content they read and view online
and learn how to identify false and manipulative news and infor-
mation. Many experts argue that some combination of these and
other ideas will be needed.

Acknowledging the Problem

Social media companies initially scoffed at claims that Russian
agents had used their platforms to engage in a massive disin-
formation campaign aimed at manipulating US voter sentiments
during the 2016 presidential election. But in late 2017 Facebook
founder and chief executive offi cer Mark Zuckerberg publicly ac-
knowledged that more than 126 million of its users may have
been exposed to political ads and fake news purchased by the
Russian-linked Internet Research Agency. In addition to Zuck-
erberg’s admission, Google also acknowledged that Russian
agents uploaded more than one thousand videos on its YouTube
platform, and Twitter executives said that Russian agents pub-
lished more than 131,000 messages on its platform.

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