Social Media Owners, Politicians Pose Greatest Threats to Online News Integrity, Expert Panel Finds

Social media platform owners, politicians, and governments represent the most significant threats to a trustworthy online news environment, according to a comprehensive new report from the International Panel on the Information Environment (IPIE).

The findings, based on a survey of 412 academic researchers across various disciplines, position social media platform owners at the top of the list of concerns, followed closely by domestic and foreign governments and politicians. The IPIE, which models its approach on the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, warns that the global information landscape stands at a “critical juncture.”

Philip Howard, IPIE co-founder and professor of internet studies at the University of Oxford, emphasized the outsized influence wielded by social media platform owners. “Their control over content distribution and moderation policies significantly impacts the quality and integrity of information,” Howard stated. “The unchecked power of these entities poses a grave risk to the health of our global information environment.”

While the report doesn’t explicitly name specific tech executives, Howard noted that Elon Musk’s acquisition of X (formerly Twitter) has raised particular concerns. Reports of X’s algorithm giving preferential treatment to Musk’s own posts exemplify the problems that arise when platform owners exert excessive influence over content distribution. Similarly, whistleblower Frances Haugen has claimed that Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta dedicates fewer resources to moderating non-English content on Facebook and Instagram.

Chinese-owned TikTok represents another area of concern, with lawmakers across multiple countries expressing fears that ByteDance, its Beijing-based parent company, could face pressure from the Chinese government—though TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew has insisted the platform is not “an agent of China or any other country.”

The survey drew responses from researchers in social sciences, humanities, and computer sciences, with particularly strong representation from the United States and Western Europe. However, the study also incorporated perspectives from China, India, Nigeria, Brazil, and other nations, providing a global, if somewhat Western-leaning, assessment.

Regarding future trends, approximately two-thirds of respondents expressed pessimism, expecting the information environment to deteriorate further—an increase from just over half in the previous survey. The IPIE, which launched last year as a non-governmental organization, had previously warned that biased algorithms, manipulation, and misinformation constitute a “global and existential threat.”

The report highlights how many politicians have leveraged conspiracy theories and misinformation for political advantage, consequently eroding public trust in reliable information sources and democratic institutions. This political manipulation of information compounds the challenges already posed by platform owners’ influence.

Artificial intelligence emerges as another significant concern in the findings. Nearly two-thirds of experts surveyed believe AI-generated content—including videos, voice recordings, images, and text—has negatively impacted the information landscape, with the same proportion “convinced” that AI amplifies misinformation problems.

“Generative AI tools have offered novel opportunities to produce propaganda at scale,” the report warns. AI-generated video ranks as the top AI-related concern, followed by synthetic voice technology. Notably, experts from developing nations expressed greater concern about AI’s negative effects than their counterparts in developed countries.

Despite these concerns, respondents identified potential positive applications for AI, including detecting misleading content and helping journalists analyze large datasets. A majority of experts reported being “moderately hopeful” about these beneficial uses.

To address the identified problems, the panel recommends several interventions: promoting free and independent media, implementing digital literacy campaigns, encouraging factchecking initiatives, and clearly labeling misleading content.

As global information systems continue to evolve rapidly, the IPIE’s findings suggest that without robust interventions and thoughtful regulation, the integrity of the news environment may face increasing challenges from powerful private and political interests.