Combating Disinformation on Social Media and Its Challenges: A Computational Perspective

Abstract

The use of social media has accelerated information sharing and instantaneous communications. The low barrier to entering social media enables more users to participate and keeps them engaged longer, incentivizing individuals with a hidden agenda to spread disinformation online to manipulate information and sway opinion. Disinformation, such as fake news, hoaxes, and conspiracy theories, has increasingly become a hindrance to the functioning of online social media as an effective channel for trustworthy information. Therefore, it is imperative to understand disinformation and systematically investigate how to improve resistance against it. This article highlights relevant theories and recent advancements of detecting disinformation from a computational perspective, and urges the need for future interdisciplinary research.