Swiss Reddit study on fake news stirs ethics debate
A controversial fake news study, carried out by Swiss-based researchers on the social media platform Reddit, has highlighted the ethical responsibilities and challenges of conducting research on society.
This content was published on
1 minute
I write about the rapidly evolving artificial intelligence technology and its possible impacts on society.
Originally from England, I spent some time at the BBC in London before moving to Switzerland to join SWI swissinfo.ch.
My work is focused on making videos and podcasts about science and technology topics. I specialize in developing explainatory video formats for mobile viewing, mixing animation and documentary styles.
I studied filmmaking and animation at Zurich University of the Arts and began working as a video journalist at SWI swissinfo.ch in 2004. Since then I have specialised in creating different styles of animation for our visual products.
It highlights a conundrum familiar to many researchers: how much information to withhold from participants to make the study realistic.
Researchers have a moral duty to respect the human rights and privacy of participants, inform them that they are taking part in research and gain consent for using their data.
Universities have ethics committees to make sure these duties are observed. And people are further protected by data protection laws and the Swiss constitution, which has clauses protecting the private sphere of citizens.
More
More
How a fake news study tested ethical research boundaries
This content was published on
A controversial fake news study on Reddit has highlighted the ethical responsibilities of conducting studies on society.
Train vs plane: would you take a direct train between London and Geneva?
Eurostar is planning to run direct trains from Britain to Germany and Switzerland from the early 2030s. Would you favour the train over the plane? If not, why not?
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at [email protected].