Fractured Truths: The Dangers of Bespoke Realities in the Digital Age

Renée DiResta, an expert on disinformation, explores in her latest book how individuals' perceptions of reality are influenced by obscure systems, niche influencers, and digital communities.

Jul 18, 2024

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The Facts:

In today's media landscape, Americans can now effectively live in entirely distinct realities depending on where they get their daily news and information. In 2024, this phenomenon has become even more pronounced, with people able to curate their own personalized media diets that reinforce their existing beliefs.

Virality is a collective behavior that involves the interplay of influencers, algorithms, and the crowd, all of which work together to amplify and spread false or misleading information. As the research manager at the Stanford Internet Observatory, DiResta has witnessed firsthand how the rapid emergence of various AI technologies has fueled the rise of political disinformation, with billions of people voting in elections around the world this year. DiResta has published a new book, "Invisible Rulers: The People Who Turn Lies Into Reality," which outlines how unseen people and technologies shape our realities today, and how it's all being leveraged to win elections.

As Renée DiResta explained talking to Wired, "There's a lot of movement into factions, where people are really deeply entrenched in a highly-specific niche political identity. One of the things you start to see is that faction A and faction B are often not even seeing the same kinds of content. You have communities that are absolutely outraged about something that has happened on the internet and the other community has absolutely no idea that this is even happening."

However, DiResta's tenure at the Stanford Internet Observatory was recently cut short, as the university likely did not renew her contract due to the unrelenting and baseless allegations of anti-conservative bias from right-wing lawmakers. The demise of the Stanford Internet Observatory is likely due to the "chilling effect of congressional inquiries and associated lawfare, and the politicization of research," which can discourage institutions from conducting politically inconvenient research.

Content moderation alone is not sufficient to solve the problem of online harms and misinformation, as new influencers and tactics will emerge to circumvent platform policies. As DiResta shared with Wired, "Bespoke realities are made for — and by — the individual." People are naturally drawn to mysteries, rumors, and tales of intrigue as a sign of healthy skepticism and unwillingness to accept official or conventional explanations at face value. DiResta describes this phenomenon as the emergence of "bespoke realities," where people are deeply entrenched in highly specific political identities and factions.

The vast choice and algorithmic sorting on platforms like YouTube have created a remarkable ability for people to become the most comprehensively, voluntarily, and cooperatively misinformed generation. Individuals can find evidence, real or imagined, to validate their prior beliefs, and are also protected from receiving information that might cause them to question those beliefs. This has led to a concerning reality where the more politically engaged you are, the harder it is to avoid bespoke realities.

Bespoke realities are not confined to one political ideology, as both Republicans and progressives can create their own alternative realities based on the information they consume. The power of influencers has become paramount in this landscape, as they are able to command massive followings that mainstream media outlets struggle to match. This DiResta detailed in her conversation with Wired, "They have the followers. Even conspiracy theorist influencers have followings in the millions at this point. Mainstream media doesn't necessarily get that kind of readership on a given article or viewers on a given piece of content. But the influencer is algorithmically pushed into your feed and they have that ability to speak back, to engage in a way that media brands often don't."

The View:

Renée DiResta's insights into the creation of "bespoke realities" should serve as a wake-up call for all Americans. The fact that people can now effectively live in entirely separate information bubbles, with vastly different understandings of reality, is deeply concerning for the health of our democracy.

It is alarming that people can create their own reality by making things trend and repeatedly reinforcing the same narratives, which cannot be easily corrected with fact-checks. This demonstrates the alarming power of influencers and algorithms to shape political narratives and reinforce conspiracy theories. The very tools we've relied on to seek the truth – our curiosity and quest for insight – can now lead us astray, as we are increasingly shielded from information that challenges our preconceptions.

It is important to recognize the fundamental difference between someone who questions certain events and someone who believes in a comprehensive network of misunderstandings and false beliefs. The former may be genuinely seeking truth and challenging the status quo, while the latter has succumbed to the allure of a comforting alternative narrative that aligns with their preconceptions.

DiResta's analysis shows how the very foundations of our democracy are at stake, as the ability to agree on a shared set of facts becomes increasingly elusive. No one is immune to the temptations of bespoke reality, and it requires constant self-awareness and effort to challenge ourselves and seek the truth rather than the comfortable falsehood.

DiResta's departure from the Stanford Internet Observatory, in the face of "spurious investigations" and the chilling effect of congressional inquiries and associated lawfare, further underscores the dangers posed by the politicization of research. If institutions succumb to these tactics, the ability to fact-check and expose the realities behind the "rumor mill" will be severely diminished, leaving the public at the mercy of those who seek to manipulate our perceptions for their own gain.

As a society, we must confront this alarming trend with a renewed sense of urgency and determination. It is time to break free from the comfortable falsehoods of bespoke realities and embrace the difficult truth, no matter how uncomfortable it may be. Only then can we hope to reclaim our collective agency and chart a course towards a future where truth and reason prevail.

TLDR:

The media landscape has evolved, allowing people to effectively live in distinct realities based on their news and information sources
The emergence of "bespoke realities" where individuals can curate their own personalized media diets that reinforce their existing beliefs is a growing concern
Virality and the interplay of influencers, algorithms, and the crowd have fueled the rise of political disinformation, posing a threat to elections around the world
Content moderation alone is insufficient to solve the problem, as new tactics will emerge to circumvent platform policies
The power of influencers to command massive followings and shape narratives has become paramount, overshadowing the reach of mainstream media
The politicization of research and the "chilling effect" of congressional inquiries can discourage institutions from conducting politically inconvenient studies, further undermining our ability to fact-check and expose the realities behind the "rumor mill"
Confronting this alarming trend requires a renewed sense of urgency and determination to break free from the comfortable falsehoods of bespoke realities and embrace the difficult truth