>I’m saddened by the harsh reaction so far, which seems based mostly on the first couple of paragraphs of a thoughtful and well-written essay. The discussion of online persuasion being used by both advertisers and spreaders of disinformation, and the many incentives that exist for different parties to accept that “social media” is an all-powerful manipulation machine, is particularly interesting.
I have read more of it that that, and I found it to be lacking in original thinking, and poorly written. As for the effectiveness of persuasion, this has been studied quantitatively for quite some time now, and it can't be hand-waved away.
Persuasion on social media is certainly effective. But I think it’s also worth reflecting on the number of people who would still believe false news stories/conspiracy theories/etc in a hypothetical world without social media, and what techniques we might use in that world to combat the issue.
As for original thinking, I may not be as well-read on these topics as others. Some of the ideas seemed obvious once I read them, but I didn’t think I’d seen them before. Example: “disinformation” becoming a catch-all word for “things I disagree with”.
We don't have to consider a hypothetical world. We can just look at history from before social media. And yes plenty of people believed in conspiracy theories and spread misinformation. Witch trials, the red scare and satanic panic were a thing prior to social media. So was the fake moon landing and alien abductions.
So with social media, the question is whether the problem is magnified significantly, or it's just more visible now.
What seems likely to me is that it’s faster with social media. That maybe every form of social change is faster with the internet. Whatever is going to happen without social media can happen faster than it would have.
I have read more of it that that, and I found it to be lacking in original thinking, and poorly written. As for the effectiveness of persuasion, this has been studied quantitatively for quite some time now, and it can't be hand-waved away.