Media Confidential ‘It’s dangerous work’: The battle against digital disinformation
Feb 23, 2026
Clare Melford, CEO and co-founder of the Global Disinformation Index and expert on digital disinformation, recounts political pushback and threats linked to her work. She discusses how advertising monetization fuels polarising content. Short, sharp takes cover AI amplification risks, regulatory tools like the Digital Services Act, and strategies to steer ad money away from harmful sites.
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Engagement Algorithms Fuel Polarising Content
- Engagement algorithms reward emotionally polarising content, not quality news.
- Clare Melford traces the problem to Facebook's 2012 engagement algorithm and TikTok's refinement which monetise extremity to sell ads.
Let Advertisers Choose With Independent Transparency
- Give advertisers independent transparency so they can choose where their ads appear.
- GDI provides assessments of news sites and found advertisers then prefer less polarising environments, moving spend away from risky sites.
Coordinated Attacks Aimed To Defund Disinformation Research
- Disinformation research was targeted by a coordinated campaign labelled the 'industrial censorship complex'.
- Clare says attacks included hostile press, litigation, subpoenas and congressional probes aimed to defund the field.