Artificial Intelligence, Social Media and Information Disorder in China’s Information Ecosystem

Abstract

Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies have played a significant role in the production and spread of information. AI technologies along with social media brought the public huge amount of information, which greatly improves the efficiency of information acquisition among societies. However, as AI technologies continue to advance, new forms of misinformation and disinformation emerge and disrupt the information ecosystem, resulting in the rise of various forms of fake news and information disorder. This poses serious threat to the authenticity and credibility of information and undermines healthy development of journalism in light of changing technologies. Given the limitations of the conceptual definition of ‘fake news’, this study is guided by Claire Wardle’s broader and deeper framework of ‘information disorder’ and the Gatekeeper Theory. It adopts the qualitative method of in-depth interviews for data collection and utilizes thematic analyses to interpret its findings. The findings from this study expand ongoing literature on information disorder particularly within the fields of AI, social media and within the regional context of China.