Scandals such as Cambridge Analytica’s have brought into the public eye an important issue: electoral results can be manipulated through social media microtargeting, often causing waves of disinformation.
The issue has been adressed by civil society, individual politicians, private entities, national and EU bodies in an attempt to safeguard future elections.
As the 2019 EU election campaign approaches, it is important to understand what solutions do we have at hand, evaluate them and decide whether they suffice or need improvement in order to correctly address the complex problem of online disinformation.
This panel aims to evaluate potential preventive mechanisms such as Facebook algorithmic transparency around online political targeting, EU Commission’s Action Plan against Disinformation, awareness raising on current and future campaigning practices, as well as efforts to protect media pluralism and freedom.
Moderator: Eleonora Nestola (lawyer specialised in the digital sector)
Panel Participants:
- Fanny Hidvegi (European Policy Manager – Access Now)
- Elda Brogi (Scientific Coordinator – Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom / Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies / European University Institute)
- Claudio Agosti (Lead Developer for Facebook Tracking Exposed and Founding Member & Vice-President Hermes Center)
- Josh Smith (Chief Technical Officer and Senior Researcher, Centre for the Analysis of Social Media, Demos)
This panel discusses current and future solutions to online disinformation in the electoral campaign context. As a solution – oriented session, it complements the problem – oriented morning discussion: “Mapping the problem – News dissemination on online platforms“.