The Guardian: The collapse of the information ecosystem poses profound risks for humanity by Lydia Polgreen (2019)
Here is a summary of the key points of the article:
– The article argues we are facing the collapse of the information ecosystem, similar to the environmental collapse of the planet.
– The digital revolution has enabled misinformation and fake news to spread virally, undermining truth and facts. This poses profound risks for humanity.
– Loss of advertising revenue has decimated the news media, with over 28,000 journalist jobs lost since 2008. The quality and availability of information has declined.
– Facebook, Google and Amazon now dominate digital advertising, taking 70% of revenue. This monopolization threatens the sustainability of quality journalism.
– The collapse of reliable information ecosystems has already damaged democracy, trust in institutions, and the world order. It creates instability.
– Corporations must take responsibility and allocate advertising funds to support quality journalism, not just platforms accelerating this collapse.
– Just as firms adopt environmental sustainability policies, they should adopt “information sustainability” policies to restore the information ecosystem.
– The article argues advertisers allocating funds to quality news could be the most powerful way to alter damaging platform behaviors and address this crisis.
In summary, the article argues the information ecosystem is collapsing with risks as severe as environmental collapse, and corporations must act to support quality journalism as part of “information sustainability.”
Tags: global information ecosystem (10)
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