misinformation

"Gen Z feels less and less able to trust what it reads and sees": Channel 4 presents landmark research on UK's young people

A woman in her 50s with dark hair and wearing a black blazer and white shirt stands at a lecturn covered with the words: 'Gen Z: Trends, Truth and Trust'

The UK risks sliding into “an American news swamp” unless urgent action is taken by British TV news organisations, policy-makers and regulators to future-proof the news they provide for young people. 

That was the stark message in what may have been a career-defining speech by Channel 4 CEO Alex Mahon, addressing an eclectic audience of public service broadcasters, content makers, opinion formers, AI specialists and RTS Bursary Scholars.

Ear Candy: Why Do You Hate Me?

Logo for podcast series Why Do You Hate Me?

She wasn’t exaggerating. The same profile noted that, of the 14,488 messages marked for review by the BBC’s online abuse monitoring system (between 1 January and late June in 2023), 11,771 were directed at the broadcaster’s Disinformation and Social Media Correspondent.

It’s a tragic irony of the job that, by investigating cases of online hate you inevitably become the victim of one. And yet Spring refuses to back down from this new virtual front line, ie, her inbox.