Thread by @digiphile

Today at 12 ET, @SURfdn is convening a discussion at the @uscapitol with @AshaRangappa_ @astepanovich
@justinhendrix & @acarvin about how we can all address the threats that disinformation & misinformation pose to democratic societies – & what do about it eventbrite.com/e/defusing-dis…

@SURfdn @uscapitol @AshaRangappa_ @astepanovich @justinhendrix @acarvin I started working with @SURFdn in the fall of 2018 (when it was @StandUpIdeas) as a project manager for DefusingDis.info, commissioning & editing expert perspectives about what's happening at the intersection of media, tech, (de)regulation, misinformation & disinformation.

@SURfdn @uscapitol @AshaRangappa_ @astepanovich @justinhendrix @acarvin I joked that “a lie can be tweeted halfway around the world while the truth is still unlocking its smartphone,” but our reality is disinformation & misinformation cascading across billions of screens pose serious risks to much more than election integrity. defusingdis.info/2019/01/10/int…

@SURfdn @uscapitol @AshaRangappa_ @astepanovich @justinhendrix @acarvin To help inform the press, public & policymakers, we've collected resources & recommendations from around the world: defusingdis.info/resources/
like "Weapons of Mass Distraction: Foreign State-Sponsored Disinformation in the Digital Age": state.gov/documents/orga…

@SURfdn @uscapitol @AshaRangappa_ @astepanovich @justinhendrix @acarvin The meat of my work, however, has been working with contributors to commission & edit a series of essays exploring how the world has changed, how it hasn't, & what governments, publishers & broadcasters, tech companies & the public could or should do now: defusingdis.info/2019/02/01/wha…

@SURfdn @uscapitol @AshaRangappa_ @astepanovich @justinhendrix @acarvin We've explored on what the public can do, with respect to using social media responsibly in an age of disinformation, featuring the insights of @cward1e: defusingdis.info/2019/01/23/how…
…whose work at @firstdraftnews is important & ambitious: wired.com/story/claire-w…

@SURfdn @uscapitol @AshaRangappa_ @astepanovich @justinhendrix @acarvin @cward1e @firstdraftnews We've explored how media, nonprofits & yes, even governments, can work with a distributed public to identify & debunk disinformation, leveraging the unique insights of @acarvin: defusingdis.info/2019/01/23/how… (He'll be speaking about his current work at @DFRLab today at the @USCapitol)

@SURfdn @uscapitol @AshaRangappa_ @astepanovich @justinhendrix @acarvin @cward1e @firstdraftnews @DFRLab We worked with @noUpside to distill her diagnoses of the problems persisting across online platforms & synthesize prescriptions that would be responsive to the disinformation viruses running rampant in our social networks: defusingdis.info/2019/01/23/wev…

@SURfdn @uscapitol @AshaRangappa_ @astepanovich @justinhendrix @acarvin @cward1e @firstdraftnews @DFRLab @noUpside We tapped into the brains of @BrendanNyhan & @vm_wylbur to consider what technologists could do from inside of the post-industrial giants to help improve the situation: defusingdis.info/2019/01/24/how…

@SURfdn @uscapitol @AshaRangappa_ @astepanovich @justinhendrix @acarvin @cward1e @firstdraftnews @DFRLab @noUpside @BrendanNyhan @vm_wylbur Building from this paper: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cf… @schneierblog & @henryfarrell explored how to defend democratic mechanisms & institutions against information attacks: defusingdis.info/2019/01/28/def…

@SURfdn @uscapitol @AshaRangappa_ @astepanovich @justinhendrix @acarvin @cward1e @firstdraftnews @DFRLab @noUpside @BrendanNyhan @vm_wylbur We worked with @AshaRangappa_ to develop a strategy that would fortify America’s social fabric with shared civic values that can serve as a prophylactic against future disinformation attacks: defusingdis.info/2019/01/30/dis…

@SURfdn @uscapitol @AshaRangappa_ @astepanovich @justinhendrix @acarvin @cward1e @firstdraftnews @DFRLab @noUpside @BrendanNyhan @vm_wylbur We explored a critical issue with @astepanovich: responding to disinformation should not trample on human rights: defusingdis.info/2019/01/31/res… Unfortunately, that exactly what has been happening around the globe: poynter.org/ifcn/anti-misi… She'll talk about that today at the @USCapitol.

@SURfdn @uscapitol @AshaRangappa_ @astepanovich @justinhendrix @acarvin @cward1e @firstdraftnews @DFRLab @noUpside @BrendanNyhan @vm_wylbur We dug into the role transparent, aggressive journalism plays in defusing disinformation with the redoubtable @brooklynmarie: defusingdis.info/2019/02/04/to-…

@SURfdn @uscapitol @AshaRangappa_ @astepanovich @justinhendrix @acarvin @cward1e @firstdraftnews @DFRLab @noUpside @BrendanNyhan @vm_wylbur @brooklynmarie In February, @MollyMcKew contributed a proposal for "code of conduct" for civilians, seeking to establish rules of engagement for the (dis)information wars that modern campaigns & states are waging online: defusingdis.info/2019/02/08/rul…

@SURfdn @uscapitol @AshaRangappa_ @astepanovich @justinhendrix @acarvin @cward1e @firstdraftnews @DFRLab @noUpside @BrendanNyhan @vm_wylbur @brooklynmarie @MollyMcKew And after we looked deeply at the past & present of interactive media, @justinhendrix helped us to understand the future of disinformation – and how to stop it: defusingdis.info/2019/02/13/the…

@SURfdn @uscapitol @AshaRangappa_ @astepanovich @justinhendrix @acarvin @cward1e @firstdraftnews @DFRLab @noUpside @BrendanNyhan @vm_wylbur @brooklynmarie @MollyMcKew While disinformation in the form of synthetic video - so-called "deep fakes" – hasn't played a key role in a campaign yet, that future is coming. @SamGregory explored what to do about it, building on his work at @witnessorg: defusingdis.info/2019/02/19/dee…

@SURfdn @uscapitol @AshaRangappa_ @astepanovich @justinhendrix @acarvin @cward1e @firstdraftnews @DFRLab @noUpside @BrendanNyhan @vm_wylbur @brooklynmarie @MollyMcKew @SamGregory @witnessorg Building data protection regimes can also help counter dark disinformation & computational propaganda personalized to target populations, as @ipolitico explored: defusingdis.info/2019/03/11/how…

@SURfdn @uscapitol @AshaRangappa_ @astepanovich @justinhendrix @acarvin @cward1e @firstdraftnews @DFRLab @noUpside @BrendanNyhan @vm_wylbur @brooklynmarie @MollyMcKew @SamGregory @witnessorg @ipolitico Ultimately, however, we can't just look to governments or the press or tech companies to solve systemic problems: we also have to upgrade ourselves, as @dangillmor argued: defusingdis.info/2019/03/25/mis…

@SURfdn @uscapitol @AshaRangappa_ @astepanovich @justinhendrix @acarvin @cward1e @firstdraftnews @DFRLab @noUpside @BrendanNyhan @vm_wylbur @brooklynmarie @MollyMcKew @SamGregory @witnessorg @ipolitico @dangillmor It's been an honor & pleasure to work with these contributors & the folks at @SURfdn on these issues, along with so many other folks over the past months. I'm looking forward to the discussion today & to continuing to learn more about how to increase the resilience of societies.

@SURfdn @uscapitol @AshaRangappa_ @astepanovich @justinhendrix @acarvin @cward1e @firstdraftnews @DFRLab @noUpside @BrendanNyhan @vm_wylbur @brooklynmarie @MollyMcKew @SamGregory @witnessorg @ipolitico @dangillmor Coda: "the public backlash against tech companies is being used as a pretext to censor speech" in Europe:
nytimes.com/2019/05/06/tec… & around the world: poynter.org/ifcn/anti-misi…

@SURfdn @uscapitol @AshaRangappa_ @astepanovich @justinhendrix @acarvin @cward1e @firstdraftnews @DFRLab @noUpside @BrendanNyhan @vm_wylbur @brooklynmarie @MollyMcKew @SamGregory @witnessorg @ipolitico @dangillmor And while automated fact-checking will help the public & press sift disinfo from fact, eventually: theatlantic.com/magazine/archi… …this tension between protecting freedom of expression while debunking propaganda & lies will be with us for the rest of our lives. No "silver bullets."