Last month, in Free speech and free deliberation, I argued that information rich free speech is the best kind of free speech because it enables free deliberation. The core tension is that in the short-run, the return on misinformation is great. In the medium-run, the cost of misinformation is ruinous. Given that most social media and information retrieval platforms have embraced misinformation contrary to their own medium-run interests, how might we, as individuals and in communities, remain open to receiving information while protecting our freedom of deliberation in the short-run? In this post, I’ll argue that one potential set of measures in the short-run involves the creation of filter foam. Rather than experience the externalities from misinformation, amplified by centralized[…]
