How to make social media more trustworthy

Issue 78: Our research suggests evidence-based solutions to make social media more trustworthy and a book event in Washington DC at the 2023 APA Conference!

Last week, we wrote about the problem with bullshit in groups and organizations. We argued that it was critical to “Foster an environment that values truth and integrity, where members are encouraged–and rewarded–to speak up against bullshit and uphold the importance of accurate information.”

In our experience, it feels like much of the world rewards bullshit and other forms of misinformation. For instance, there are nearly 5 billion people on social media and the primary incentive structure is about capturing attention–regardless of accuracy. This is why it is often called “the attention economy” rather than “the accuracy economy” or “the trust economy”. In the words of Facebook whistleblower, Frances Haugen:

"Facebook is optimizing for content that gets engagement or reaction. Its own research is showing the content that is hateful, that is divisive, that is polarizing—it is easier to inspire people to anger than other emotions."

It turns out that people are sick of this incentive stru…