Institute of Politics to co-host conference on disinformation and erosion of democracy

The conference will explore the roots and scope of the problem, the threats posed by new technological advances, and the tools and policies required to neutralize them. Panels will also discuss the challenge presented when the term “disinformation” itself becomes fractious, and the tension between free expression and the need to combat wanton and willful disinformation.

“Disinformation and conspiracy theories, turbocharged and micro-targeted by the new tools social media and big data provide, are a clear and present danger to democracies,” Axelrod said. “They have become weapons with which to foment mistrust in our institutions, sow division and even political violence. But combating them is a complex challenge. We hope over these three days to not only shine a light on the problem but also potential solutions.”

Jeffrey Goldberg, editor in chief of The Atlantic, says the magazine’s partnership in this conference is part of a major commitment he and his journalists are making at a crucial juncture in our history.

“Disinformation causes a great deal of stress on otherwise functioning democracies, and The Atlantic’s preoccupation, for 165 years, has been the state of American democracy, and the state of the democratic idea worldwide,” said Goldberg. “Our conference will focus on the weaponization of disinformation and the competing definitions of disinformation itself. We look forward to bringing together, with David Axelrod’s IOP, a top-tier group of experts, policymakers, journalists and politicians to analyze this important phenomenon.”

The conference will be organized around a series of keynotes, panel discussions and breakout sessions. Among them:

• A conversation with President Barack Obama, moderated by Jeffrey Goldberg, editor in chief of The Atlantic
• What Happens When We Can’t Tell What’s Real?, featuring Joan Donovan, research director of the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy
• A conversation with Nobel Prize-winning journalist Maria Ressa, moderated by Adrienne LaFrance, executive editor of The Atlantic
• Defending Free Speech in the Mobile Internet Age, featuring Mary McCord of Georgetown Law and Prof. Geoffrey Stone of the University of Chicago Law School
• Imagining a Better Social Media, featuring Ethan Zuckerman, professor at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst
• Targeted by Lies: How Disinformation Spurs Political Violence, featuring Christopher Krebs, former director of Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency; Asst. Prof. Kathleen Belew of the University of Chicago; and Rep. Adam Kinzinger

Please visit www.disinfo2022.com for more information.