Goñi, I. (2026)
Report written to inform upcoming public funding (CivTech Scotland) for new misinformation tech. We have to think outside the (pre/de) 'bunk'!
Can technology help tackle the challenge of misinformation? Of course, but misinformation tech often focuses just on 'correcting' citizens instead of dealing with the democratic dimension (that what counts as good information is contested in pluralistic societies) and the social dimension (that trust in information comes from building relationships).
Drawing on interviews with practitioners and researchers, the report suggests that the real opportunity may be less about building yet more correction tools and more about tech supporting trust, social listening, community-led responses, trusted intermediaries, coalition-building, and better ways of communicating uncertainty.
In that sense, misinformation tech needs to become civic tech: technologies of democracy.