Once heralded as vehicles for promoting democratic values abroad, social media platforms now serve as vectors for homegrown and foreign disinformation. By dictating the information consumed by hundreds of millions of Americans, the machine learning (ML) algorithms employed by these platforms are an integral part of the spread of disinformation. Moreover, by improving and automating the generation and targeting of disinformation, emerging ML capabilities have the potential to significantly enhance the effectiveness of disinformation campaigns.

This brief summarizes the results of a recent analysis that critically evaluates how ML tools could affect the creation, spread, and effectiveness of disinformation. Read More