Populism in the Age of Social Media and AI With Tom Davidson

Click to Trust

2024 is a busy year for democracy! More countries will hold elections this year that at any point in the next two decades to come. So perhaps more than ever, it’s critical that we take a look at the growing amount of misinformation that threatens to influence or subvert these elections.

In this episode of Click to Trust, we’ll hear from computational sociologist Tom Davidson about how misinformation and social media have changed citizen engagement online. One of the many results is the growth of populist political parties fueled by online spaces where misinformation can run rampant. Tom explains the differences in engagement between populist and non-populist parties on platforms like X and Facebook.

Highlights:

• Takeaway One: The shift from chronological to curated news feeds can radically reshape political landscapes by tipping the scales of engagement.
• Takeaway Two: Populist rhetoric finds a fertile breeding ground on platforms like Facebook, with twice the engagement than on Twitter, and it's pivotal for online safety experts to examine why.
• Takeaway Three: As influencers of online safety, recognizing the importance of a holistic, international approach to platform scrutiny can help mitigate the risks of misinformation and aggressive political tactics.

Jump Into the Conversation:

[06:12] Populists use social media for direct connection.

[08:25] Hate speech and misinformation fuel populist engagement.

[17:28] Facebook is widely used in Europe, but Twitter is used selectively.

[29:17] Populists are targeting big tech and AI tools.