In this Community Chat, and with members of the Caribbean tech community, Gerard Best and Amit Uttamchandani, the panel discusses disinformation, misinformation and fake news, including: whether the content delivery platforms are the blame; the importance of scepticism; and why regulation is not enough.

 

This episode is also available in Apple iTunes, Google Play Music, Spotify (NEW!!) and on Stitcher!

As the speed at which information can be disseminated has increased – thanks to technology – there has also been an increase in the amount of information that is being circulated. However, it is becoming increasingly difficult to recognise true and authoritative news and information, from that which has been created to do harm, to misinform, or as ‘clickbait’.

As a result, and over the years, new terms, such as ‘fake news’ and ‘mal-information’, have emerged to explain the phenomenon we have been experiencing. However, these labels may be betraying how insidious and pervasive the dissemination of false information has become, and consequently, how difficult it is becoming to separate truth/fact from fiction.

Over the last few months, the CEOs for some of the biggest tech companies, including Google, Facebook and Twitter, have been facing lawmakers in the United States (US) on a broad range of issues, including misinformation and the growing calls for regulation of the tech industry. To varying degrees, these platforms have been clamping down on posts that, among other things, are patently untrue, or are been made with the intention to deceive. However, and in the US in particular, tech companies have been trying to walk the fine line of balancing the oversight they have imposed, against the right to free speech; but lawmakers seem to demanding considerably more regulation.

Although these discussions on content regulation may seem far-removed from the Caribbean region, disinformation that originates outside region can, and does, have an impact here. Further, let us not fool ourselves: it is also likely that we are generating disinformation as well. A good example is among our growing influencer community. The seemingly innocent posts that serve to generate more engagement, reach and likes, and ultimately, to increase the popularity of an influencer, could potentially be subject to not only tighter regulation, but also sanction, in the future.

The above context is the basis for this month’s Community Chat episode.

 

Introducing our guests

Amt Uttamchandani (left); Gerard Best (right)

Gerard Best is a Communications Specialist with more than a decade of varied managerial experience, in a career spanning corporate communication, stakeholder relations, newsroom digital transformation, development journalism, qualitative research, inventive content creation and executive reputation management. He also who writes extensively on Caribbean telecoms and ICT issues. Gerard is the holder of postgraduate qualifications in Communications Studies (M.A.) at The University of the West Indies and in Development Journalism (PG Dip.) at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication.

Amit Uttamchandani is an experienced technology and business professional, who has worked in a broad range of roles and sectors across the Caribbean. Currently, Amit is based in Barbados, and by day, is an ICT Consultant. He is also the Founder and writer behind CaribbeanSignal.com, where he writes data-driven articles on topics that either tend to be rarely noticed, or are ignored by Caribbean media. Amit holds postgraduate qualifications in Business Administration, from Durham university, and in Information Technology, from the University of Liverpool.

 

We would love to hear from you!

Do leave us a comment either here beneath this article, or on our Facebook or LinkedIn pages, or via Twitter, @ICTPulse.

 

Select links

Below are links to some of the organisations and resources that either were mentioned during the episode, or otherwise, might be useful:

 

 

Image credits: A Uttamchandani; memyselfaneye (Pixabay); G Best

Music credit: Ray Holman