Is Social Media Threatening Democracy? Talk w/ Top Journalists (SF)

"Previously, she spent over a decade in the Middle East as a foreign correspondent, reporting for BuzzFeed, NPR, The Times of London, and McClatchy Newspapers. Frenkel was part of the team of investigative journalists recognized as 2019 Finalists for the Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting. The team also won the George Polk Award for National Reporting and the Gerald Loeb Award for Investigative Reporting."

"Jeff Horwitz is an investigative technology reporter for Reuters in San Francisco, and a former reporter for the Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, American Banker, Legal Times, The San Bernardino Sun and The Washington City Paper. He was a Knight Bagehot fellow at Columbia University, and has won Loeb and Polk awards, as well as the Christopher J Welles Memorial Prize and the New York Press Club's Gold Keyboard. He lives in Oakland with his wife."

"Steven Lee Myers joined The New York Times in 1989 and has worked in New York, Washington, Moscow (twice), Baghdad, Beijing and Seoul, including four stints as bureau chief. Myers contributed to the Times coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic that won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service in 2021. He is the author of a biography of Russia's president, The New Tsar: The Rise and Reign of Vladimir Putin, published in 2015."

Social media enables rapid amplification of political messaging and misinformation that can shape public opinion and electoral outcomes. Algorithms and engagement-driven incentives increase visibility of sensational or misleading content. Investigative reporting reveals platform policies, moderation practices, and corporate incentives that often prioritize growth over accuracy. Governments confront a tension between protecting free expression and imposing regulations to curb disinformation and manipulation. Effective responses combine platform transparency, independent oversight, proportionate legal frameworks that respect civil liberties, improved media literacy, and civil-society collaboration. Corporate accountability, regulatory clarity, and robust investigative journalism can mitigate harms while preserving democratic discourse.

Read at Funcheap