Category: digital democracy

Artificial intelligence: enabling authoritarians, jeopardizing democracy

     

At a moment of great anxiety about the state of modern liberal democracy,  artificial intelligence in China appears to be an incredibly powerful enabler of authoritarian rule. Is the arc… Read more »

Facebook ‘war room’ counters disinformation (but tech has corroded democracy)

     

Facebook is reportedly delighted with the performance of its anti-disinformation “war room” during Brazil’s presidential election. But despite Facebook’s stronger and more organized coordination of its effort to improve election-related… Read more »

Democracies ‘outgunned’ in fight to counter Russian disinformation

     

The Russian government recently launched a new disinformation campaign – aimed at deflecting blame for a possible chemical attack in Syria, where Russia is fighting to prop up the brutal… Read more »

Civil society ‘plays crucial role’ in spreading – and combating – disinformation

     

Facebook is working on building a war room (both in the physical sense and in the staffing sense) to protect elections, POLITICO reports. More than 300 people across the company are… Read more »

Russian disinformation ‘a major concern’: voter confidence in democratic process ‘taking a hit’

     

Russia Today, the Kremlin’s English language news network, is a “major concern”, the UK’s culture secretary said today, while calling on public broadcasters to defend democracy in the face of… Read more »

Beware the dangers of digital activism

     

Democracy advocates should be aware of the limitations of digital activism, argues Manal al-Sharif, co-founder and leader of the #Women2Drive movement, founder and CEO of Women2Hack Academy, and author of… Read more »

Russia and the West fighting a ‘disinformation-age battle’

     

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis accused Russia on Monday of attempting to influence the outcome of a referendum in Macedonia on changing the country’s name that would open the way… Read more »

Hacking democracy or creating change through digital engagement?

     

As the United Nations celebrates the International Day of Democracy on September 15 under the rubric of “Democracy Under Strain,” New York University’s Governance Lab unveils its CrowdLaw Manifesto to strengthen public participation in lawmaking. “This manifesto shares… Read more »

Countering Russia’s ‘active measures’: assessing new tools

     

Russia is using the same disinformation playbook to sow doubt about the attempted assassination of Sergei Skripal and his daughter as it did in the case of Alexander Litvinenko’s death,… Read more »

Why Technology Favors Tyranny

     

The emergence of liberal democracies is associated with ideals of liberty and equality that may seem self-evident and irreversible. But these ideals are far more fragile than we believe. Their… Read more »