Chapter 10. Governance of misinformation by public service bots: The potential of automated social networking site accounts operated by public service media for correcting misinformation

The rapid dissemination of reliable information from credible sources is of particular relevance in combating misinformation. Such information can be provided by public service media (PSM). This chapter addresses the potential of automated social media accounts operated by PSM for the correction of misinformation. The legitimacy of this governance option is examined through a legal analysis and its effectiveness tested through an experimental survey (N = 113). The results of the legal analysis show that a legitimate claim can be derived for the use of automated communication agents by PSM within social networking sites, which can also be used in the fight against the spread of misinformation. The results from the experiment indicate that accounts operated by PSM enjoy higher credibility and generate more interactions than accounts operated by social peers. However, labelling accounts as automated tends to limit the effectiveness of accounts operated by PSM that provide corrective information.