The Extra Work of Managing Media's Misinformation

Key points

Beneath the noisy digital surface is a quiet second shift managing the invisible work of media misinformation.

Media literacy has not kept up with the rate of the digital age.

There is an immense emotional labor to de-escalating, shielding, or correcting media misinformation.

Behind the endless social media scrolls sits a silent, unpaid workforce toiling around the clock. Managing the relentless onslaught of misinformation, the emotional exhaustion from weighing polarizing content, and the outright digital violence has become a burden of hidden work. Add the unregulated algorithms designed to amplify engagement, often serving as echo chambers, content moderators, and false credibility, and the work compounds.

The unseen cost of our interconnected world is thankless and em