Former Google CEO Calls Social Networks ‘Amplifiers for Idiots’
I disagree with Schmidt. Misinformation is spreading because trust in institutions is eroding. This eroding trust is because of <i>transparency</i> and improved information dissemination. Most people don&#x27;t trust the news anymore because it can easily be seen how biased they are. They don&#x27;t trust institutions because they see how partisan most are.<p>You can&#x27;t just ban or regulate social media and expect the toothpaste to just magically go back into the tube. Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube are doing their best to suppress information that goes against the popular narrative, but that&#x27;s not helping me trust those narratives more, but instead making me trust those internet companies less.<p>Address the issue of trust, and you can fix the real issues here. Not &quot;idiot&quot; amplification.