The first, "Niall Ferguson's Networld" on PBS, possesses a scholarly and broader historical bent, for both better and worse. The second, HBO's "After Truth: Disinformation and the Cost of Fake News," conveys a greater sense of urgency by addressing modern abuses and dangers, although they work best, perhaps, viewed in tandem. Obviously, social networks -- and technology that has facilitated them -- have recurred throughout human history, with impacts ranging from the uplifting to the terrible. Presented with an academic tone, historian/author Niall Ferguson's three-part "Networld" tries to put all that in context, citing innovations ranging from the printing press to the internet. In every case, he says, there has been a "first law of network science: Birds of a feather flock together."

Source: CNN March 17, 2020 17:26 UTC