Commercial Innovation Opportunities for Civic Tech to Reduce Misinformation: "Thinking outside the bunk"
A report of expert-interview research into opportunities for new Civic Tech to reduce misinformation. The central argument is that misinformation is not only a technical problem but also a democratic and social one. It proposes four reasons to “think outside the bunk”: meaning beyond pre-/debunking.
Footnotes
1 The deficit model in science communication assumes that public scepticism or lack of engagement with science is primarily caused by a lack of scientific knowledge, and that providing more information will lead to greater public understanding and support for science. Critics argue that this model oversimplifies public attitudes by ignoring the roles of values and experience, but also by making communication a one-sided process instead of two-way dialogue
2 In fact, ‘Bunk’ approaches are especially relevant for security, such as protecting elections from organised misinformation, AI-generated content, and bot swarms. While this brief notes these security and safeguarding challenges, this exceeds its focus.
Contact
Email: tom.wilkinson@gov.scot