Public Knowledge: We Need a ‘Superfund for the Internet’ to Fight Misinformation Online

Public Knowledge has been tracking the efforts of digital platforms to counter mis- and dis-information about the novel coronavirus pandemic since early March. This tracking has involved careful analysis of hundreds of articles, abstracts, research, and opinion pieces about how platforms are responding to the pandemic. In the latest addition to the tracking report logging digital platform responses to misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic includes a “superfund for the internet” proposal. Such a fund would compel digital platforms like Google and Facebook to invest in tools our society needs to fight misinformation online — tools that have been proven during the pandemic.