Rafik B. Hariri Institute for Computing and Computational Science and Engineering 665 Commonwealth Ave, Room 424
MISI is hosting Marshall Van Alstyne, Allen & Kelli Questrom Professor of Information Systems at Boston University’s Questrom School of Business, for its first Media and Public Trust seminar of the 2026-2027 year.
Can we curb misinformation without censorship by redesigning the incentives that govern speech? Drawing on insights from market design, this research reframes misinformation as a pollution problem rather than one of falsity per se. When false or misleading claims create externalities, markets fail; when those costs can be internalized through voluntary, decentralized exchange, markets may clear without centralized adjudication of truth.
Presenting both theory and evidence, this work shows how we might increase speech access, decrease misinformation, and remove any central body judging speech -- consistent with First Amendment constraints. Results suggest a viable path for media reform and legal policy that preserves expressive freedom while improving information welfare in the marketplace of ideas.