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Disinformation - Challenges and Dangers to Democracy

Disinformation Event Banner

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Via: Zoom Register Here 
Date: June 22nd, 2022 Members: Free
Time: 1:00 - 3:30 pm Eastern Public: $20

ICJ Canada is pleased to invite you to register for its upcoming event, "Disinformation: Challenges and Dangers to Democracy"! We are excited to be collaborating with the Professional Development Institute and the University of Ottawa's Information Integrity Lab with the Lab's first event. Join us on June 22nd to hear from speakers from academia, civil society, and industry on this challenging and prescient issue. Registration is $20 for the public, but ICJ Canada members with a valid 2022 membership can register free. It's not too late to renew, just click here.

Event Overview

Disinformation has emerged as one of the fundamental challenges facing society. The expression “A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth puts on its boots” has never been more accurate – the rapid development of social media and communication technologies has resulted in an environment that not only aids the spread of disinformation but incentivizes its creation. Disinformation has been used to create and exploit social divisions and to manipulate social discourse, including, and perhaps especially, surrounding politics and elections.

Canada’s resilience to disinformation has been tested these past years with concerted campaigns from foreign adversaries and a thriving domestic disinformation ecosystem – not to mention the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. These dynamics were fully on display with the contentious February Freedom Convoy protests against vaccine mandates in Ottawa and other major Canadian cities. Our speakers will discuss the challenges and dangers to Canadian democracy posed by disinformation.

Speakers

  • Kevin Sheives, Associate Director at the International Forum for Democratic Studies, US National Endowment for Democracy
  • Eve Gaumond, Director, Innovative Ideas Incubator Program, International Observatory on the Societal Impacts of AI and Digital Technology, Faculty of Law, University of Laval, Quebec
  • Chris Tenove, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Political Science, University of British Columbia
  • Vivek Krishnamurthy, Samuelson-Glushko Professor of Law and Director of the Samuelson-Glushko Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic (CIPPIC)
  • Michele Austin, Head of Policy, Twitter, Canada

  • Rachel Curran, Public Policy Manager, Facebook, Canada