BBC boss says disinformation ‘trust crisis’ putting social fabric of UK at risk
Britain’s status as a cohesive, democratic society is at risk for the first time in a generation as the rise of social media platforms and disinformation fuel a “trust crisis”, the BBC’s director general has said.
In a wide-ranging address about the future of the corporation, Tim Davie said BBC News would start to make special content for platforms such as YouTube and TikTok, where disinformation can go unchecked, as he couched the broadcaster as a “precious national asset” preventing the UK from becoming a society in which there were no shared facts.
Related Knowledge Center: Social media
Social media platforms are the source of news for millions of people — and they have a fraught and ever-shifting relationship with the enterprises that provide that news.
The TikTok ban | The Meta-FTC trial
Related Knowledge Center: Information integrity
In an increasingly fractured media landscape, truth has been a casualty in the public discussion. Coverage has been warped by the business needs of struggling news organizations, and a significant segment of the public relies on bad-faith outlets that are little more than propagandists. While fact-checking has become routine, some organizations are exploring other ways to combat the trends. And misinformation spewed by AI-driven chatbots has become more of a feature than simply a bug.
Fact-checking and its detractors