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News and Information Disorder in the 2020 US Presidential Election

Information Society Project 2020 Workshop

News and Information Disorder in the 2020 US Presidential Election

With the 2020 election campaign heating up, there have been increasing concerns about the spread of false information on social media, as well as discussions regarding the role of platforms in resolving information disorder (i.e., misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation). Specifically, deepfake videos, manipulated videos, or audio recordings using artificial intelligence (AI), are already threatening the 2020 election. However, there has been a lack of scholarly attention in terms of the associated ethical and legal ramifications. With a unique combination of practitioners and scholars from different disciplines, including law, political science, communication, psychology, and computer science, this workshop will be a first attempt to reflect on the important questions that have been raised during the presidential campaign and election, particularly related to information disorder created and aggravated by algorithms. Special attention will be given with regard to how we can establish laws and policies to reduce information disorder in online and social media environments.

  • Date and duration: December 4th, 2020 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:20 p.m. (EST)  
     
  • Format: Zoom Webinar
    (This workshop will be entirely online. The entire session will be recorded)
     

Session Themes (Each participant has 5 to 10 mins for presenting their research)

  • 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.: The Creation and Spreading of False Information and Political Discussion

    How does digital technology help create and spread false information during the 2020 presidential election season? How do people spread misinformation and disinformation during the election season on different platforms? Which factors influence the spread of false information related to the election season? How do misinformation and disinformation harm our democracy, and how can we measure this harm?
  • Kathleen Carley (Professor in the School of Computer Science at CMU)
  • Sam Gill (Senior Vice President and Chief Program Officer at Knight Foundation)
  • Andrew Guess (Assistant Professor of Politics and Public Affairs at Princeton University)
    Moderator: Leah Ferentinos

10:00 a.m. – 10:10 a.m.: Break

10:10 a.m. – 11:10 a.m.: How to Fight Information Disorder I

Which strategy or policy is effective in resolving information disorder? How would such a strategy or policy work in people’s minds? What are media organizations’ role and responsibility for information disorder during the 2020 presidential election season?

  • Lisa Fazio (Assistant Professor of Psychology and Human Development at Vanderbilt University)
  • Jisu Kim (Resident Fellow at the Information Society Project),
  • Soojong Kim (Postdoctoral Fellow in the Program on Democracy and the Internet and Digital Civil Society Lab at Stanford PACS)
  • Ethan Porter (Assistant Professor in the School of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University),
  • ​Thomas Wood (Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at Ohio State University)

Moderator: Rafael Nunes

11:10 a.m. – 11:20 a.m.: Break

11:20 a.m. – 12:20 p.m.: How to Fight Information Disorder II

Which strategy or policy is effective in resolving information disorder? How would such a strategy or policy work in people’s minds? What are media organizations’ role and responsibility for information disorder during the 2020 presidential election season?

 

  • Valerie Belair-Gagnon (Assistant Professor in the Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Minnesota), Steen Steensen (Professor in the Department of Journalism and media studies at Oslo Metropolitan University),
  • Bente Kalsne (Associate Professor at the Department of Communication at Kristiania University College),
  • Oscar Westlund (Professor in the Department of Journalism and Media Studies at Oslo Metropolitan University),
  • ​Lucas Graves (Associate Professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Wisconsin-Madison)
  • Jonas Kaiser (Assistant Professor at Suffolk University)
  • David Rand (The Erwin H. Schell Professor and an Associate Professor of Management Science and Brain and Cognitive Sciences at MIT Sloan)

Moderator: Pauline Trouillard

12:20 p.m. – 1:20 p.m.: Lunch and Break

  • There will be a separate zoom meeting session for further discussion and networking
    • 1:20 p.m. – 2:20 p.m.: Platform’s roles in resolving information disorder

      What is the platform’s role and responsibility for information disorder during the 2020 presidential election season?
  • Kate Klonick (Assistant Professor of Law at St.John's University)
  • Daniel Kreiss (Associate Professor in the Hussman School of Journalism and Media at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
  • Bridget Barrett (Park Fellow in the Hussman School of Journalism and Media at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
  • Samuel Woolley (Program Director of Propaganda Research & Knight Faculty Fellow at the University of Texas at Austin)
  • Katie Joseff (Senior Research Associate at the Center for Media Engagement at the University of Texas at Austin)
  • Jacob Gursky (Research Associate at the Center for Media Engagement at the University of Texas at Austin)

Moderator: Michael Karanicolas

2:20 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.: Break                 

  • 2:30 p.m. – 3:50 p.m.: Algorithms, bots, internet architecture and governance

    Which Internet architecture or platform governance system would best contribute to resolving information disorder in online and social media environments? Are there any other ethical concerns with regard to information disorder during the 2020 presidential election season? 
  • Laura DeNardis (Professor in the School of Communication at American University)
  • Olivier Sylvain (Professor of Law at Fordham University)
  • Jevin West (Associate Professor, Co-director at DataLab and the Center for an Informed Public at the University of Washington)
  • John Wihbey (Assistant Professor of Journalism at Northeastern University)

Moderator: Niklas Eder

3:50 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.: Break

4:00 p.m. – 5:20 p.m.: Law and Policy to Resolve the Information Disorder

How can (or should) law and policy be shaped over the next four years in order to resolve the information disorder created and aggravated by algorithms? Are there First Amendment problems with the regulation of information disorder, and if so, how should they be addressed?

  • Yochai Benkler (Professor of Law and co-director of the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University)
  • Guy-Uriel Charles (Edward and Ellen Schwarzman Professor of Law at Duke)
  • Sasha Matthew (MPA candidate at Harvard and LLB at National Law School of India)
  • Ari Ezra Waldman (Professor of Law and Computer Science at Northeastern University)

Moderator: Francesca Procaccini