Fake News to Stay for Now, Says Newseum Head; He Foresees Little Success for NMA Antitrust Exemption Bid
ASPEN, Colorado -- The problem of fake news is here to stay for now, although with some focus on consumer education and media users changing habits, it eventually could dwindle, the CEO of the Newseum said at a Technology Policy Institute conference. Jeffrey Herbst also thinks newspaper publishers' bid to get an antitrust exemption allowing them to collectively negotiate advertising deals with digital advertising platforms is unlikely to succeed, he said in Q&A.
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In his speech on the closing day of the TPI conference, Herbst said the issue of intentionally false news spread online is likely to "become much worse before it becomes much better" and a technological solution might not be possible. He said social media and other tech platforms may not find that using artificial intelligence, another subject at TPI (see 1708210030), successfully arrests "anytime soon" the trend of false news. Tech companies are trying to address the problem, but "there are technological limits to what the platforms can do in the short term," the CEO said. "We're going to have to emphasize the education of the American consumers and consumers worldwide on how to differentiate between quality and fake news." Herbst noted the trend comes amid declining trust in U.S. media and other institutions, as society "just does not believe in top-down information like it used to." He said the backdrop includes the "destruction of the financial model around journalism," with news having historically been a "bad business," so that "legacy journalism is in deep trouble" now.
"There has been a real vacuum in news that fake news has replaced" amid a "carnage" in journalism and newer media not making up for all that was lost, he said. "What you have seen now ... may be the tip of the iceberg," he said, and he worries people will come to not trust videos, too, not just photos and other content. "We'll also see more and more fake news targeted at companies," which could lead to short selling, he said: "The solution to fake news is a market solution where people demand better quality news," because "if there is not demand, then supply will inevitably be reduced." Consumers would need to be "much more intentional about what they see on the web, and it will clearly require a long period of time." The Newseum is educating youth about "how to be intentional news consumers" and hopes also to focus on adults.
A News Media Alliance-backed push for legislation to give news publishers antitrust safe harbor to collectively negotiate ad deals may not see success given current political considerations, Herbst said. "I don't think it's going to happen in the current environment," he said, citing congressional Democrats supporting more, not less, antitrust enforcement. Their “Better Deal” plan was released last month. NMA's request is unlikely to get congressional backing, Herbst said. Others have said similar (see 1707100059).
Instead of legislation, Herbst suggested news publishers focus on updating their product for the current tech age. NMA officials didn't comment.