Online bans can help stop the spread of misinformation

Published September 4, 2018 This content is archived.

An article in The New York Times about claims by conspiracy-monger Alex Jones that the more he’s “persecuted” the stronger he gets after he was kicked off Facebook, YouTube, Apple, Spotify and Pinterest last month interviews Monica Stephens, assistant professor of geography who studies how misinformation spreads on the internet. Now that access to Infowars is mainly through its website or app, Jones’s ability to reach new viewers is severely limited because they will no longer come across his videos while scrolling through Facebook or YouTube, she said, adding, “This increases the likelihood Infowars is preaching to a filter bubble versus reaching new audiences.”