3: Seeders and Amplifiers

How does disinformation take root and spread like wildfire in the information age?

The answer lies with two pivotal sets of actors: the ’seeders’ who first plant the false narratives and the ’amplifiers’ who cultivate dissemination into new spaces. The authors analyse how prominent influencers, often driven by engagement metrics and economic incentives, leverage social capital to blur the lines between authentic content and propaganda. Critically, this chapter details how platform algorithms create powerful feedback loops and systemic biases, inadvertently accelerating the proliferation of harmful and ideologically aligned content, as evidenced by both research and the authors’ teaching insights. The authors examine the formation and consequences of echo chambers, explaining how psychological mechanisms, such as confirmation bias, are designed to reinforce insular digital realities. The authors argue that to truly navigate the fractured information landscape, we must build a ‘human firewall’. This means equipping ourselves with critical thinking skills and good media hygiene. These tools, the authors argue, help individuals identify and collectively call out disinformation.