How WeChat Spreads Rumors, Reaffirms Bias, and Helped Elect Trump
LI-ANNE DIAS for WIRED Backchannel
WIRED - Backchannel April 20, 2017
"WeChat’s design does not make it easy to fight biases or fake news. Information on the platform spreads quickly within and between WeChat groups, but the sources of information — and therefore their verifiability — are de-emphasized, to the extent that sources are almost completely ignored. As a result, credibility defaults to whomever shared the information last, and whether he or she can be believed. The litmus test for truthfulness has moved from, “is this argument supported by evidence?” to, “is this argument shared by someone whose judgment I trust?”