Information Cascades in Sexual Misconduct Allegations
https://www.ft.com/content/6973e6d6-d047-11e7-9dbb-291a884dd8c6
This article discusses the recent chain of sexual assault accusations that have been occurring in the media, mainly with famous people such as Harvey Weinstein. It mentions how more and more accusations will surely emerge in the coming weeks or months, but originally it was only names in entertainment and political arenas. Robert Dilenschneider suggests that soon, names in the business world will also be accused. The author describes how difficult it is to fight against sexual harassment and assault in the workplace, especially because those in power can easily shut the victims out of that professional sphere. However, what was different in 2017 was the existence of digital information cascades, where people can ask for stories or facts on the internet and easily get a response within minutes. The power of social media makes it a lot easier for those without a voice to be heard. Another reason was that the election of Donald Trump empowered many women to get involved in politics and for women to speak out against sexual harassment. Some people are concerned that these accusations and the power of information cascades could transform the situation into a witch hunt, but it only further shows the impact that information cascades can have.
This article was pretty interesting because it took a concept we had in class, information cascades, and applied it to a current event that I have seen all over the news. The way other people’s decisions and reactions affect how people react to the same event is a cool psychological effect, but it can also be interpreted in a more mathematical way through probability. The article discusses why in the past it probably would have been harder to have the same information cascade as what could happen today, thanks to the now widespread usage of social media and technology in general. Giving people a voice allows those who thought they and everyone else around them had no voice to have the courage to speak out, allowing the information cascade to perpetuate and help people make decisions that will bring the sexual harassment to light. The usage of technology increases the speed of information cascades, allowing phenomenon like the flood of sexual assault accusations to become viral and lead to actual action being taken to fix the situation.