If I can’t trust my internet, who can I trust?!

For my two platforms, I am focusing on sites that I actually use and have some familiarity with, Reddit and Pinterest. I think having some regular familiarity with each site will help me with my answers and discussion.

Reddit:

Reddit makes it very clear they consider misleading content. A big problem for them seems to be content or websites that make deliberate attempts or are actively trying to mislead. I also like to make special notes for disinformation efforts related to the civic electoral process. I think making the information this clear and detailed really helps spell out the policy and makes it very clear to anyone using the site what you can and can’t do. The wording here seems very deliberate to remove any gray areas.

​The examples given for what to and not to do also make very clear that a lot of what seems to be the problem is the intent. In the do not, it’s all about clear attempts or purposeful attempts to mislead or efforts to discourage people from voting. I also appreciate the note in the what not to do section about coordinated efforts because it seems that these play a big role in misinformation campaigns.

​The what to do section makes it very clear that you are allowed to post misinformation or altered information if you are using it to call out the tactic, and I think this is important as well because it seems that, according to some research, calling out misinformation is important to stopping the flow of it, though I know other studies say that repeating the misinformation is just as harmful, so maybe this is a mixed bag response depending on your perspective.

Also of note is that Reddit has special considerations for how this applies to AI. The rules pertaining to AI generated content is based on what subreddit has set, but they do make special note that AI generated content that is created to internally mislead does create problems and they will take action against that. Also of special note is that this misleading includes posting AI generated content and passing it off as being made by a person.

From my experience with Reddit, I think these are generally good practices. I do think they are genuine attempts to spread misinformation using the platform. I do wonder if they draw the line between a deliberate attempt and an honest mistake, because a lot of this wording seems to be about the intent of the user posting, and I think the line could get blurred real quick and someone could play incorrectly when they aren’t, especially with how much content gets passed between communities. 

​Also, considering the hundreds of subreddits that make up the site, I would be curious how much this policy is split and redefined between each subreddit. Each subreddit claims past attempts as misinformation could be treated and defined very, very differently, and I could see these rules getting very murky as we enter the more partisan subreddits. I definitely think, in regard to Reddit, this policy is one I want to do more in depth research on by going to specific subreddits and seeing if they have specific policies on misinformation.

Pinterest:

Pinterest actually has more words than Reddit when it comes to Misinformation. Reddit basically has just the one section that I highlighted, Pinterest has whole paragraphs on the topic, and in its community guidelines, the word is mentioned 10 times. We will focus on their specific misinformation section for now.

Pinterest breaks down misinformation into specific categories, Health, Conspiracy, Civic, and Climate. I actually really appreciate how much effort and thought is put into this. The detail and amount of words really spell out what they consider misinformation and what they moderate against. Everything from fabricated media to conspiracy about public safety to conspiracy that denies climate change. I feel like Pinterest is putting its politics out here, almost in its policy, and making clear that they won’t stand for some things.

There also seems to be a big action on safety and well being on Pinterest. The other mentions of misinformation talk about hate groups and hate conspiracy and malicious misinformation actions.

I am actually really surprised to see how clear a line in the sand Pinterest is making for certain political movements like gender identity. I had no idea Pinterest was this way, and I am impressed.

So Pinterest has a lot of words and details on what is and isn’t allowed. They make clear that certain conspiracies and types of hate are simply not allowed and that there is no tolerance for any of that on Pinterest. Compared to Reddit, I would say Pinterest draws a much clearer and harder line than Reddit does on this. I think in general this type of policy works well, especially for sites like Pinterest. They clearly know their brand and their audience and who they want to attract and setting this up right away and what they do and don’t allow belief/conspiracy wise allows them cultivate exactly the type of audience they want.

I think sometimes misinformation gets treated as being a matter of free speech, and I think that’s why it is allowed all too often in some cases. It may honestly be a time, but not as much, and shouldn’t be treated as full free speech, and I think that’s why a policy like this is great. No free speech allowance for misinformation, this is what’s allowed and what’s not, no exceptions.

​I think overall this is a good policy and sets a good standard for what Pinterest is trying to accomplish. I think from experience with this site, I don’t feel that I see misinformation. However, I do see a lot of AI content passed off as being made by a person, so I would like to see what policy, if any, they have regarding this. I think considering how much of Pinterest is media and image based, the issue of AI and the misinformation it comes with is only going to get worse.

​This was a very fun exercise that allowed me to consider something that I usually don’t. I can’t say I have ever dug deep into the TOS for any site that I visited regularly, but this class has given me second thoughts about how these sites handle misinformation, and now it is something that I think everyone should read and see what standard they hold their sites to regarding how they contribute to the spread of misinformation. As expressed and talked about, this is a problem that isn’t going away and is only becoming more prevalent, so we need to know what our sites are doing to handle their part of this issue.