New browser extension empowers users to fight online misinformation

🌈 Abstract

The article discusses a new browser extension called Trustnet that empowers users to fight online misinformation. The extension allows users to flag misinformation and identify others they trust to assess online content, putting the power to decide what constitutes misinformation into the hands of individual users rather than a central authority.

🙋 Q&A

[01] New browser extension empowers users to fight online misinformation

1. What are the key features of the Trustnet browser extension?

• The Trustnet browser extension allows users to:
  • Click a button to assess content as accurate, inaccurate, or questionable, and provide details or rationale
  • Identify others they trust to provide assessments
  • See assessments from their trusted sources when visiting a website
  • Choose to follow others beyond their trusted assessors and see their assessments on a case-by-case basis
  • Respond to questions about content accuracy
  • The extension also checks all links on the page and places indicators next to links to content deemed inaccurate by trusted sources.

2. What are the key motivations behind the Trustnet browser extension?

• The researchers wanted to create a platform-agnostic solution to the problem of online misinformation, as opposed to relying on social media platforms to moderate content or requiring users to migrate to a new social media platform.
• The goal is to put the power to decide what constitutes misinformation into the hands of individual users rather than a central authority.

3. What were some of the technical challenges the researchers faced in developing the Trustnet extension?

• Enabling the link-checking functionality, as links typically go through multiple redirections.
• Making design decisions that would suit a variety of users.

[02] Findings from the user study

1. What were the key findings from the two-week user study conducted by the researchers?

• Untrained individuals were able to effectively assess misinformation using the Trustnet extension.
• Participants said having the ability to assess content and see assessments from others they trust helped them think critically about the content.
• The content users chose to assess was often different from the content assessed by professionals, such as news articles.
• Users said they would value assessments from people with relevant expertise, such as doctors assessing medical content or immigrants assessing content related to foreign affairs.

2. What potential issue did the researchers identify with letting users choose whom to trust?

• Users could become trapped in their own bubble and only see content that agrees with their views.
• This issue could be mitigated by identifying trust relationships in a more structured way, such as suggesting users follow certain trusted assessors like the FDA.

3. What are the future research directions the researchers want to explore?

• Further study structured trust relationships and the broader implications of decentralizing the fight against misinformation.
• Extend the framework beyond misinformation, such as using the tool to filter out content that is not sympathetic to certain protected groups.