How did the digital tools we built with optimism become weapons of disinformation? Dan Brown, host of the Unchecked podcast and principal at Curious Squid, joins Noz Urbina to explore the uncomfortable question of designer complicity in our epistemological crisis. They discuss how systems built for connection now fragment truth, why community moderation fails, and what designers can do differently when building information spaces that resist manipulation.
"Information spaces are not well designed to encourage lateral reading... we need to design an information space that not only demands features but that are grounded in practices like lateral reading." – Dan Brown
Key Findings
Designer complicity in disinformation systems - The uncomfortable question of w...
How did the digital tools we built with optimism become weapons of disinformation? Dan Brown, host of the Unchecked podcast and principal at Curious Squid, joins Noz Urbina to explore the uncomfortable question of designer complicity in our epistemological crisis. They discuss how systems built for connection now fragment truth, why community moderation fails, and what designers can do differently when building information spaces that resist manipulation.
"Information spaces are not well designed to encourage lateral reading... we need to design an information space that not only demands features but that are grounded in practices like lateral reading." – Dan Brown
Key Findings
- Designer complicity in disinformation systems - The uncomfortable question of whether UX/tech professionals unknowingly helped build systems that enable misinformation, though most lacked visibility into the bigger picture 10-15 years ago
- Information architecture's role in truth collapse - How the systems that mediate between content creators and consumers have become vulnerable to manipulation and need a "structural revolution" similar to accessibility and responsive design
- The failure of professional fact-checking - Why traditional fact-checking has become ineffective due to the "truth inversion" where qualified sources are automatically distrusted as part of the conspiracy
- Community moderation's fundamental flaws - How user-flagging puts truth to a vote and creates filter bubbles where communities reinforce their existing beliefs rather than correcting misinformation
- Lateral reading as a design principle - The need to build information spaces that encourage cross-referencing multiple sources rather than consuming single feeds
- Ground News as a positive example - How this app restores context by showing source ownership, bias spectrum, and multiple perspectives on the same story
- Hashtag and tagging weaponisation - Examples like #NotAllMen, #SaveTheChildren, and Amazon's vaccine category showing how information systems get co-opted for disinformation
- The destruction of context online - How the modern web strips away temporal and source context, presenting 20-year-old content alongside yesterday's news without distinction
- Personal responsibility and speaking up - Noz's regret about waiting to address authoritarianism concerns and the importance of recognising warning signs from other countries' experiences
- The internet as humanity's mirror - The optimistic view that unprecedented visibility and self-awareness created by digital systems will ultimately help society correct course, despite current challenges
What you'll learn
- Why fact-checking has become a polarised and ineffective solution
- How hashtags and tagging systems get weaponised for disinformation
- The difference between designing for engagement versus designing for truth
- Why community moderation creates filter bubbles instead of stopping misinformation
- How "lateral reading" could transform information architecture
- What designers didn't know 10 years ago about their role in democracy's decline
- Practical approaches to building more resilient information spaces
- Why secrecy is harder in the spotlight-addicted digital age
🗣️ ABOUT THE HOST:
🔗 CONNECT WITH NOZ:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nozurbina/
Consultancy: https://urbinaconsulting.com/
Truth Collapse: https://truthcollapse.com/
🎙️ ABOUT TRUTH COLLAPSE:
The Truth Collapse Podcast explores how we come to believe what we believe in an age of algorithmic manipulation and epistemological crisis. Hosted by Noz Urbina, we examine the intersection of technology, information design, and democracy.
Website: https://truthcollapse.com/
📧 GET IN TOUCH: Have questions or want to be a guest?
Email: contact@truthcollapse.com
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