Hello r/politics. I'm David Gilbert, extremism reporter for WIRED. Throughout this year, I've covered disinformation, conspiracies, and online extremism happening on social media platforms like Elon Musk's X and Telegram. Whether it's rapidly spreading conspiracies boosted by elected officials, AI-generated images and deepfakes used in campaigns, Russian disinformation campaigns interfering in the US election, or far-right militias and their plans to disrupt the vote, ask me anything on Friday, Nov. 1 at 12 pm to 1 pm ET. I will try my best to get to as many questions as possible. For WIRED's latest politics news and exclusives, you can read more of my work here.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GbTwzv4W8AA-Hdo?format=jpg&name=medium

I'm David Gilbert, Extremism Reporter for WIRED. AMA about disinfo and extremism surrounding the US Election
byu/wiredmagazine inpolitics

21 comments

  1. Are you seeing any chatter regarding J6 style planning with the militia types? Are they waiting for the “go ahead” from the campaign?

  2. What do you make of a lot of media outlets “sane-washing” Donald Trump, yet holding Harris, Biden, and Democrats the highest standards imaginable?

  3. Hi David, thanks for doing this AMA – Considering your extensive reporting on disinformation, I’d love to get your insights on how the scale and sophistication of disinformation networks this election cycle compare to those in 2016 and 2020. With the widespread availability of AI tools, have you noticed any significant changes in the methods or effectiveness of disinformation campaigns, especially with AI-generated content? Are these tools impacting how disinformation is distributed or received by audiences?

  4. Hey David

    How much do you believe Russia is contributing to misinformation and extremism in the united states?

  5. In this forum, the bias is towards the more liberal side. Generally, we tend to assume the problem is not us, but any group is vulnerable to bias confirmation, at the least.

    Any thoughts on how to avoid confirmation bias? It’s almost the flip side of the coin.

  7. Hi David, thanks for taking the time today and welcome.

    Is domestic terrorism the number one threat to the United States right now? What got us here? And, what efforts are being done by the United States government and/or other organizations to keep it in check?

  8. Hi David! Your WIRED pal here. Genuinely curious…What steps do you recommend people take this Tuesday (and beyond) to make sure they’re not getting duped by false information that might be filling their feeds?

  9. How effective at changing people’s view of the world do you think intentional, state-sponsored disinformation campaigns are? And how has covering disinformation changed how you use the internet in your personal life?

  10. Hi David!

    As a 25 year old woman who is terrified for the future because of this, how do you think young people (like people from my generation, Gen Z) respond to misinformation and how can we help educate young people about the dangers of it?

  11. Is there any relevant “extremism” here other than Trumpism/MAGA and the hostile nations supporting Trump?

    If so, what is the cost of speaking of empty “extremism” without content (Trumpism)? Would one speak of “colors” when all one really means is “red”?

  12. David, thanks for doing this AMA. Based on what you have seen, does the discourse around this election appear more extreme, less extreme, or similarly extreme to that around the 2020 election? While I understand it is very hard to predict if political violence will happen or not, do you believe the threat of such violence is high in this election, and how likely do you think it might be that a large scale event will happen this election like Jan 6th in the 2020 election?

  13. Where does it end? I mean that as a real question. I don’t see how a democracy can remain healthy if these problems get worse, and I only see them getting worse.

  14. Hello Mr. Gilbert. Do you think news outlets considered to be legitimate like your own, CNN, or NYT play any role in spreading misinformation or otherwise have any part in making people susceptible to it? Thanks and keep up the good work!

  16. Do you think China is holding back its influence efforts in this election cycle compared to others, after Xi allegedly promised Biden he would do so?

  17. Overall, taking into account evolutions in both the offensive and defensive aspects, do you think America is more or less vulnerable to foreign influence campaigns than in 2016/2020?

  18. Hi David,

    We saw the Trump campaign warning against AI and deepfakes about a week ago and then nothing materialised. We also heard rumblings on social media of a groping video.

    Is it likely the Trump campaign thought something was coming? Or did they just want to cover their bases in the homestretch?

  19. Hi David, big fan of your work.

    We often hear Meta is much more hands-off now when it comes to countering disinformation compared to a few years ago, and therefore it is now easier for Russian propaganda to spread. Is this the case in your view?

  20. Hi David, thank you for your time – How worried should we be about the future of deepfakes and AI-generated misinformation? How can we combat it?

Comments are closed.