Graduate Diversity Committee

Date: November 15, 2023

Time: 5:15PM - 6:15PM

Location: BLOC 602

Title: Diversity Book Club: 'How Algorithms Create and Prevent Fake News'

Abstract: Abstract: How Algorithms Create and Prevent Fake News is an accessible, broad account of the various ways that data-driven algorithms have been distorting reality and rendering the truth harder to grasp. From news aggregators to Google searches to YouTube recommendations to Facebook news feeds, the way we obtain information today is filtered through the lens of tech giant algorithms. The way data is collected, labelled, and stored has a big impact on the machine learning algorithms that are trained on it, and this is a main source of algorithmic bias ­– which gets amplified in harmful data feedback loops. Don’t be afraid: with this book you’ll see the remedies and technical solutions that are being applied to oppose these harmful trends. There is hope. ---- Chapters 1, 6, 7 which deal with the datafication of journalism, how Google tries to filter "fake news" sources and hate speech/bigoted misinformation from its search algorithm, and lastly, how the tech giant financially supports the fake news industry through its algorithmic ad distribution system.