How ‘Big Disinformation’ Can Overcome Its Skeptics

During a recent conference at the University of Chicago, former President Barack Obama reflected on the role disinformation played during his presidency. He was subject to flagrant lies—that he was born in Kenya, for instance, and put “death panels” in his health-care overhaul. But he served relatively early in the era of the smartphone and social-media, and he now believes that he underestimated the vulnerability of democracies to false information that is intended to mislead.