fake news,46 added, “Americans are the subjects of propaganda warfare by powerful economic interests.” From then on, he and other members have increasingly focused on the issue of misinformation, rather than disinformation, and Congress’ concerns about false information influence would increasingly focus on the U.S. private sector. This change is reflective of the broader American population’s growing awareness of the term, misinformation, rather than disinformation. Misinformation is also the term polls usually use when they inquire about false information. Recent polling of the U.S. public by the Pew Research Center and Gallup have used the term “misinformation” in their research instruments, not disinformation.47
Regulatory Proposals Congress’s move from focusing on deliberately deceptive false information fed to a population by an unknown state actor, to exploring how social media companies should ensure the veracity of the information on their websites and protect Americans from extremism, was a significant shift in legislative perspective that began to be reflected in hearings and newly introduced bills. Hearings examined the role of social media companies in promoting and financing different social harms like “domestic extremism” associated with Charlottesville, and the deadly attacks on the U.S. Capitol on January 6th, 2021. Hearings also began examining the role of technology companies in the facilitation of digital redlining, the practice of perpetuating discrimination of marginalized groups through digital technologies and the internet,48,49 and combating misinformation related to the Covid-19 global pandemic. However, the shift has lacked, with the
21
46
In the 1890’s, the era of “Yellow Journalism”, the term “fake news” regularly appeared in headlines. See Merriam Webster, The Real Story of Fake News, https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/thereal-story-of-fake-news and McQueen. (2018). From Yellow Journalism to Tabloids to Clickbait: The Origins of Fake News in the United States. In Information Literacy and Libraries in the Age of Fake News (pp. 12–35).
47
See “Media and Democracy, Unpacking America’s Complex Views on the Digital Public Square,”The Knight Foundation and Gallup, March 9, 2022. https://knightfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/ KMAD-2022-1.pdf and Pew Research’s work on misinformation: https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/ news-category/misinformation/
48
Gilliard, C. (2016). Digital redlining and privacy with Chris Gilliard, Teaching in HigherEd Podcast. See also the testimony of Francella Ochillo before the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology hearing on “Broadband Equity: Addressing Disparities in Access and Affordability,” p.4. https://docs.house.gov/meetings/IF/IF16/20210506/112553/HHRG117-IF16-Wstate-OchilloF-20210506-U1.pdf, May 6, 2021. See also: Noble, S. U. (2018). Algorithms of oppression: How search engines reinforce racism. New York University Press.
49
Digital redlining appears in Congress mostly in testimony and legislation related to broadband.
Crisis and Congress: Technology, Information, and the Future of Governance
