Jan. 6 was fueled by misinformation. More content moderation won't fix it.

The chaos at the Capitol showed the real-world consequences of propaganda

A phone.
(Image credit: Illustrated | Getty Images, iStock)

A year ago today, a rogue group of protestors launched a violent assault on the United States Capitol, stoked by misinformation and a lie of a stolen election from those entrusted to lead us. That underlying problem of confusion and deception was already recognized when the riot happened, as the controversial congressional Jan. 6 commission has clearly illustrated, but recognition alone didn't prevent the attack.

And in the year since, misinformation has only become more mainstream. It is an increasingly dangerous threat to our common public square. Truth is being redefined to fit partisan politics, and many struggle to know if what they read online is trustworthy. We need a solution to misinformation — but what?

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Explore More
Jason Thacker

Jason Thacker is chair of research in technology ethics and director of the research institute at The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission. He teaches ethics and philosophy at Boyce College in Louisville, KY. His work has been featured at Christianity Today, The Gospel Coalition, Slate, and Politico. He is the author or editor of numerous works, including The Age of AI: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of HumanityFollowing Jesus in a Digital Age, and The Digital Public Square: Christian Ethics in a Technological Society.