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Credits: Image: Courtesy of the Media Lab
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Today MIT announced the launch of the interdisciplinary Center for Constructive Communication, which will leverage data-driven analytics to better understand current social and mass media ecosystems and design new tools and communication networks capable of bridging social, cultural, and political divides.
An important aspect of the new center is its commitment to reach beyond academia to work closely with experienced, locally based organizations and trusted influencers in underserved, marginalized communities across the country. These collaborations will be critical for launching pilot programs to evaluate which tools offer the greatest potential to create more trusted communication within our deeply fragmented society.
To get past information divides, we need to understand them first
“Only by becoming aware of competing narratives, and understanding why and where they take root, can we begin to do the sort of reporting that holds the powerful accountable while also building shared truths.”
Over the past year, it’s felt like the things Americans can’t agree on are growing more and more basic and more and more numerous. This trend has been amplified by the spread of misinformation at all levels of our society. It hasn’t been stemmed by a mainstream media that’s grown bolder in calling false claims false, or by social media platforms that have taken new steps around conspiracy-theorist content. Instead, people are simply seeking out different platforms and outlets that reflect their unadulterated views with our country growing more and more divided about reality itself in the process.