The Algorithm Stole My Democracy: Libraries Grappling with Misinformation in a Polarized Society

Today’s online ecosystem is powered by proprietary algorithms. Online platforms promote polarizing posts that produce higher engagement. Because incendiary and inflammatory content rises in prominence in individuals’ feeds, the world online looks angrier and less just than it may appear in real life. Thus, these systems have effectively created a dystopic information landscape promoting division and discord. American libraries historically promoted equal access to multiple points of view, trusting citizens to discern misinformation for themselves. Can citizens still make rational determinations in a manipulated information ecosystem? What roles can and should libraries play when misinformation becomes so powerful that it leads to attacks on government, constrained democratic processes, narrowing of civil rights, and disavowal of long-accepted scientific principles? How can we respect diverse viewpoints but strengthen individuals’ information discernment and awareness of how their online experiences are being directed? Join us for a rousing discussion about how to operationalize libraries’ commitments to free and fair democracy for all of our constituents in uncertain times. Learning outcomes will include an increased understanding of algorithmic surveillance and governance, the potential deleterious impacts of these technologies on our society as whole and within smaller and local communities, and practical tools and strategies for combating misinformation.