No abstract

Social media have created communication channels between citizens and policymakers but are also susceptible to rampant misinformation. This new context demands new social media policies that can aid policymakers in making evidence-based decisions for combating misinformation online. This paper reports on data collected from policymakers in Austria, Greece, and Sweden, using focus groups and in-depth interviews. Analyses provide insights into challenges and identify four important themes for supporting policy-making for combating misinformation: a) creating a trusted network of experts and collaborators, b) facilitating the validation of online information, c) providing access to visualisations of data at different levels of granularity, and d) increasing the transparency and explainability of flagged misinformative content. These recommendations have implications for rethinking how revised social media policies can contribute to evidence-based decision-making. Issue 4This paper is part of Trust in the system, a special issue of Internet Policy Review guestedited by Péter Mezei and Andreea Verteş-Olteanu.

This research project aims to highlight how Interpersonal Communication Management Information in Computer-Mediated-Communication has changed over the years, primarily as a result of the widespread adoption of digital practices associated with the Second Internet Age, otherwise called Web 2.0 whichbecame prevalent in the latter part of the 20th century and continues to evolve today. It presents the results of an empirical research project based on data collected longitudinally (spanning the period 2002-2012) from 458 personal semi-constructed in-depth interviews with Internet users from 24 countries. The findings reveal a significant shift in users' perceptions concerning the degree of "security" and "familiarity" of the Web between the pre-and the post-Web 2.0 eras. Additionally, the paper discusses the significant changes brought about with regard to two fundamental concepts in communication theory: the concept of the "audience", and the long-standing dichotomy between the 'private' and 'public' spheres of social life. Based on Social Penetration Theory the paper proposes an integrative model for comprehending the mechanisms of personal information management in interpersonal communication, applicable to both online (Computer-Mediated) and offline (Face-To-Face) contexts of communication.