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>Tracking QAnon
many disinformation researchers say it’s already clear that new regulations will be needed to govern the Internet, tech giants and the content that their users post online.
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These actions have stifled the conversation online: Starbird’s team analysed its network of influential Twitter users and found that an entire section tied to QAnon disappeared overnight (see ‘Disinformation crackdown’). But Starbird says the extremists they’ve been following will always find new platforms to spread their dangerous ideas. Law-enforcement agencies remain on high alert: on 27 January, the Department of Homeland Security released a terrorist bulletin warning that ideologically motivated violent extremists who object to the presidential transition could continue “to mobilize to incite or commit violence” in the coming months.
How Facebook, Twitter and other data troves are revolutionizing social science
Although they are still analyzing mountains of data, many disinformation researchers say it’s already clear that new regulations will be needed to govern the Internet, tech giants and the content that their users post online. Donovan says the Biden administration should conduct a comprehensive review of social media, including the algorithms that drive search and recommendation engines, as well as the ways in which technology companies have profited from spreading disinformation and conspiracy theories.
“The gatekeeping power of mass media has now shifted to these platform companies,” says Donovan. “We need them to be much more transparent about what they are doing, and we need regulation so that they know what the guard-rails are.”