This is a bigger challenge than most people realize. It will not go away even if we pass laws prohibiting automated disinformation. As Amartya Sen pointed out more than 40 years ago, all description entails choice. Reality is so complex that we cannot possibly represent it without making decisions about what to include and what to omit. In a world that is drowning in information, savvy influencers do not need to make up news; they can simply be biased in what they choose to report. News outlets can influence voters’ opinions in ways both subtle and flagrant. Just compare the images of Donald Trump and of Joe Biden that Fox News chooses.

We cannot solve the problem of authoritarian influence by banning fake news. Our best hope again lies in education. We will need to do a better job teaching people to be discerning and less susceptible to manipulation.

Innovation in law and policy must go hand in hand with innovation in education, and all are necessary to keep up with innovation in technology.

Kaushik Basu, a former chief economist of the World Bank and chief economic adviser to the Government of India, is Professor of Economics at Cornell University and a non-resident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.

Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2023.

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