Julia Angwin

Julia Angwin's avatar
Julia Angwin
🛡️ julia_at_journa.host@momostr.pink
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Investigative Journalist. New York Times opinion writer. Founder of Proof News, The Markup. Priors: ProPublica, WSJ.
With trust in traditional media at an all-time low, a new paper from me examines what content creators — currently engaged in journalist-style work & courting large, loyal audiences — can teach journalists about trustworthiness. My key finding: Journalism has placed many markers of trust in institutional processes that are opaque to audiences, while creators try to embed the markers of trust directly in their interactions with audiences. https://shorensteincenter.org/future-trustworthy-information-learning-online-content-creators/
"It is clear that the tech platforms are not going to risk their profits or their political power to protect high-quality information. And it’s equally clear that the Republicans will continue to push for fewer guardrails against falsehoods." My latest for New York Times Opinion (gift link) calls out the fediverse as our best hope of giving truth a chance.
Opinion | The Right’s Triumph Over Social Media (Published 2024)
Under heavy pressure from the right, and with the help of Elon Musk, the leading social media platforms opened the floodgates for propaganda.
ICYMI, Zuck says Meta's algorithmic feeds are great at showing us content we didn't sign up for, and soon will fill our feed with AI-generated content. This is exactly what I do not want. So I wrote my latest piece for New York TImes Opinion (gift link) on the tyrannical rise of the "for you" algorithm and how we can take back control of our feeds:
Opinion | Bad News: We’ve Lost Control of Our Social Media Feeds. Good News: Courts Are Noticing. (Published 2024)
A case involving TikTok may have opened the door to holding platforms liable for the damage they cause.
I continue to be disappointed by the poor accuracy rates of AI. Our latest @Proof News investigation shows the leading AI models were incorrect one-third of the time when confronted with known misinformation about the presidential candidates. 👇🏻
Proof
AI Models Generate Misinformation about Presidential Candidates
Posed questions about Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, top AI models generated misleading information 30 percent of ...
What is known: Judge has declared Google search an illegal monopoly. What is unknown: How the judge plans to fix it. My proposal: We need to break up Google’s monopoly on search data to promote competition. My latest for New York Times Opinion (gift link):
Opinion | Breaking Up Google Isn’t Nearly Enough (Published 2024)
To end Google’s monopoly on search, the company should be required to disgorge its data on what we’re searching for.