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The Road Ahead: Mapping Civil Society Responses to Disinformation

Samantha Bradshaw, Lisa-Maria Neudert

Washington, DC: National Endowment for Democracy (NED) (2021), 27 pp.

"Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) bring a wide range of skill sets to the problem of digital disinformation. Some organizations focus on digital media literacy and education; others engage in advocacy and policy work. Another segment has developed expertise in fact-checking and verification. Other ... organizations have developed refined technical skills for extracting and analyzing data from social media platforms. This research yielded several clear observations about the state of CSO responses to disinformation and, in turn, suggests several recommendations for paths forward. • Prioritize Skill Diffusion and Knowledge Transfer. Civil society organizations seeking funding for counter-disinformation initiatives should emphasize the importance of skill diffusion and knowledge-transfer initiatives. The siloed nature of disinformation research points to a growing need to blend technical expertise with deep cultural and political knowledge. • CSO researchers lack sufficient access to social media data. Survey respondents identified insufficient access to data as a challenge. Sometimes data are not made available to CSOs; in other instances, data are made available in formats that are not workable for meaningful research purposes. Unequal access to the data that private companies do provide can exacerbate regional inequities, and the nature of data sharing by social media platforms can unduly shape the space for inquiry by civil society and other researchers. Funders, platforms, and other key actors should develop approaches that provide more consistent, inclusive data access to CSOs. • Duplicative programming hampers innovation. CSOs drawing on similar tools, approaches, and techniques to meet similar goals pointed to three main factors preventing more specialized, innovative initiatives: lack of coordination, lack of specific expertise, and lack of flexible funding. Community building and collaboration among relevant organizations deserve more investment, as do initiatives that partner larger, established organizations with smaller or growing ones, or pool efforts, skill sets, and expertise to encourage diverse research by design rather than by coincidence. • Relationships with tech platforms vary across regions. Surveyed CSOs often held simultaneously skeptical and positive opinions about their relationships with social media companies. Some receive preferential access to data and even funding for their work (raising concerns about independence), while others report a lack of responsiveness from company representatives. In the Global South and Eastern Europe, many CSOs expressed concern that platforms failed to meaningfully engage with them on issues of critical concern. • More flexible funding and more diverse research are both necessary. To encourage greater platform accountability across varied geographic contexts, CSOs and their funders should draw on the perspectives of specific, under-analyzed communities." (Executive summary, page 3-4) more

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GFMD Impact: Disinformation
Quick Overview

Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD); USAID (2021)

"On 17th June 2021 GFMD's International Media Policy and Advisory Centre hosted a meeting of 54 media development donors, practitioners and academics to discuss effective responses to disinformation. Disinformation was chosen after it was selected as a priority in a survey of those engaged with GFMD ... more

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Media and Freedom of Expression

International Reports , volume 37, issue 3 (2021), pp. 2-99

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WHO Public Health Research Agenda for Managing Infodemics

Geneva: World Health Organization (WHO) (2021), xii, 53 pp.

"The five research streams are listed below. For each stream, three top research questions were identified, resulting in a list of 15 top priority research questions for the public health research agenda for infodemic management. Further, we listed for each subcategory a second tier of important res ... more

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Renforcer la résilience communautaire et la désinformation dans les régions du nord et du centre, Mali (Tabale Kunkan)

Issouf M. A. Haidara, Bréhima M. Sangare, Lassine Diarra

Search for Common Ground (2021), 56 pp.

"L’étude de base du projet « Renforcer la résilience communautaire et la désinformation dans les régions du nord et du centre du Mali intitulé “Tabalé Kunkan’’ a pour but d’établir la situation de référence du projet à partir de laquelle les progrès seront mesurés. Elle a util ... more

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Social Networks and the Challenge of Hate Disguised as Fear and Politics

Adam Klein

Journal for Deradicalization, issue 26 (2021), pp. 1-33

"This case study examines social networks as the modern intersections of radical discourse and political extremism. But, as this research will show, extremist content in social networks, even that which has telegraphed violent hate crimes, is seldom communicated in textbook forms bigotry or provocat ... more

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Combating Disinformation in the Arab World. Case Study: The COVID-19 Pandemic

Noha Atef

Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism (ARIJ); Friedrich Naumann Foundation (2021), 43 pp.

"In this paper, ARIJ proposes the following recommendations which target the greater media community. This includes media institutions concerned with the press, unions, press unions and donors who support this venture. We maintain that disinformation is a product of a social and political environmen ... more

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Fake News is Bad News: Hoaxes, Half-Truths and the Nature of Today's Journalism

Ján Visnovský, Jana Radosinská (eds.)

Intech Open (2021), 260 pp.

"The publication is focused on the ways fake news, disinformation, misinformation and hateful statements are spread across society, predominantly within the online environment. Its main ambition is to offer an interdisciplinary body of scholarly knowledge on fake news, disinformation and propaganda ... more

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Desinformation: Risiken, Regulierungslücken und adäquate Gegenmaßnahmen
Top Insights

Stephan Dreyer, Elena Stanciu, Keno Potthast, Wolfgang Schulz

Düsseldorf: Landesanstalt für Medien NRW; Hans-Bredow-Institut (2021), 97 pp.

"Auf der Grundlage der identifizierten Schutzlücken erarbeitet das Gutachten mögliche Gegenmaßnahmen und beschreibt die nötigen Wirkungsvoraussetzungen. Die zentrale Frage lautet: Welche Risikopotenziale für individuelle und gesellschaftliche Interessen weist Desinformation auf und welche Gover ... nance-Maßnahmen können darauf adäquat reagieren? Die Beantwortung dieser Leitfrage erfolgt dabei in drei Schritten: Vorangestellt (Kap. 2) werden die in wissenschaftlichen und medienpolitischen Diskussionen differenzierten Erscheinungsformen von Desinformation sowie ihre jeweiligen Begriffsverständnisse zusammengefasst und auf ihre Risikopotenziale hin untersucht. Ziel ist es, die Spannweite betroffener Phänomene aufzuzeigen und sie von anderen Erscheinungsformen und Begrifflichkeiten zu differenzieren. Dabei erfolgt auch eine Bewertung der Abgrenzungsindikatoren im Hinblick auf die Nutzbarkeit für rechtliche bzw. regulatorische Anknüpfungspunkte. Zudem wird hier kurz der Stand der Forschung hinsichtlich der abträglichen Effekte von Desinformation für individuelle und gesellschaftsbezogene Schutzziele einbezogen; Kenntnisse über Wirkungen von Desinformation auf einzelne Rezipientinnen und Rezipienten liegen hier bislang nur lückenhaft vor. Dies steht in gewissem Kontrast zu den eher impliziten Unterstellungen, die den aktuellen Regulierungsforderungen zugrunde liegen. Dort, wo empirische Evidenzen vorliegen, zeigt das Gutachten jedenfalls vermutete Effekte und ihre Risikopotenziale auf. Im zweiten Schritt (Kap. 3) wird der geltende Rechtsrahmen daraufhin untersucht, welche gesetzlichen Vorkehrungen gegen eine Risikorealisierung bereits bestehen und welche untergesetzlichen Initiativen sich auf Ebene von Ko- und Selbstregulierung entwickelt haben, die als Gegenkraft wirken können. An dieser Stelle setzt die Untersuchung die Arbeit des GVK-Gutachtens von Möller, Hameleers und Ferreau fort,5 indem bestehende risikospezifische Schutzlücken mit Blick auf die identifizierten Risikopotenziale herausgearbeitet werden. Dort, wo Schutzlücken erkennbar werden, zeigt das Gutachten staatliche Handlungsmöglichkeiten und -grenzen auf. Im dritten Schritt (Kap. 4) werden regulatorische Ansatzpunkte und -instrumente, die in der Lage sind, die identifizierten Schutzlücken zu schließen, beleuchtet. Klassische Ansätze der Medienregulierung eignen sich hier meist begrenzt, da für den Bereich der öffentlichen Kommunikation der Grundsatz gilt, dass es nicht staatliche Aufgabe sein kann und darf, über die Einstufungen wahr/unwahr oder erwünschte Meinung/unerwünschte Meinung zu befinden. Hier müssen – soweit überhaupt Handeln angezeigt ist – Wege staatsferner, prozeduraler Steuerung betreten6 oder alternative Formen von inhalts- und technikbezogener Governance entwickelt werden. Alternativ oder ergänzend kommen neben Maßnahmen, die diskursermöglichend oder -unterstützend wirken, auch Gegenmaßnahmen in Betracht, die informationsintegritätssteigernde oder -integrierende Wirkungen haben können." (Seite 4-5) more

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Radicalism Online: An Analysis of the Meanings, Ideas, and Values of Violent Extremism in Central Asia

Bishkek: Internews; Centre for Religious Studies of Kyrgyzstan (2021), 136 pp.

"In an effort to help prevent violent extremism in Central Asia, the Research Centre for Religious Studies of Kyrgyzstan conducted an analysis of values, narratives, and online messages created and distributed by banned extremist groups in five countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmeni ... stan, and Uzbekistan. The study included over 1.6 million messages containing religious rhetoric and provides insight into the meanings of the messages and the channels for dissemination, as well as the impact of the messages on the target audience. This was followed by a field study of 4,005 respondents in the 18-35 age range. In addition, the survey also sought to identify the media preferences of young people in the region. Using the findings, the Centre developed communication strategies for each country that recommended how media, NGOs, state authorities, and religious leaders could, with a focus on young people, contribute to promoting peace. Although less than 1% of the analyzed messages containing religious rhetoric had what would be considered dangerous content, those particular messages often resonated with users’ values and interests, especially young people. The messages promoting violence used specific, complex terms that were geared to people who were already followers of radical ideas rather than the average user. The intent of the messages was to deepen the commitment of followers rather than recruit new followers. Administrators of violent extremist channels have developed multi-channel access strategies for potential recipients (through various platforms, chat rooms, personal messages, and reposts), thwarting the blocking measures used by Central Asian governments. The messaging by extremist groups promotes: purity of faith, mutual support to fellow believers, fighting against infidels and apostates, rejection of secular power and its decisions, ambition to create a caliphate, and anti-Semitism. The main target audience of distributors of extremist content is young people aged 18-30 who are dissatisfied with the current political environment and who share a strong sense of injustice. Those aged 18-21 showing the strongest support for the influence of religion on politics. Level of education is also a risk factor: young people with less education tend to engage more with the content." (Publisher description) more

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Effective state practices against disinformation: Four country case studies

Jean-Baptiste Jeangène Vilmer

Helsinki: European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats (Hybrid CoE) (2021), 30 pp.

"[...] this Research Report has selected four country case studies: Sweden, Canada, the United Kingdom, and France. Obviously, other cases would have been interesting, particularly the United States. But the United States is already at the centre of other works, including by Hybrid CoE. Being divers ... more

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Resist 2: Counter-Disinformation Toolkit
Key Guidance

James Pamment

Government Communication Service (GCS) (2021), 59 pp.

"This refreshed version of the RESIST toolkit reflects the new realities of the threat that mis- and disinformation poses today. It explores new techniques and tactics, and how organisations can effectively identify, monitor and respond. The toolkit takes a systematic, evidence-based approach for he ... more

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Disinformation and freedom of opinion and expression: Report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
Quick Overview

Irene Khan

United Nations, General Assembly (2021), 20 pp.

"In the present report, the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression examines the threats posed by disinformation to human rights, democratic institutions and development processes. While acknowledging the complexities and challenges posed ... more

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Disinformation Toolkit 2.0: How Civil Society and Non-Governmental Organizations Can Combat Harmful Mis- and Disinformation
Key Guidance

Adam Fivenson

InterAction (2021), 49 pp.

"This report includes framing context to strategically understand and respond to disinformation in the aid sector (part 1), followed by three separate but linked sets of analyses, recommendations, and tools (parts 2, 3, and 4) spanning core perspectives relevant to InterAction Member organizations. ... more

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Counter-Terrorism, Social Media and the Regulation of Extremist Content

Levi J. West

In: Counter-Terrorism: The Ethical Issues

Seumas Miller, Adam Henschke, Jonas Feltes (eds.)

Edward Elgar Publishing (2021), pp. 116-128

"As highlighted above, the development and refinement of counter-terrorism policies and practices by social media and technology companies has come about as a function of the evolving nature of terrorist and extremist entities’ exploitation of said platforms. The challenges highlighted above, name ... more

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Strengthening Public Trust in the Media as a Response to Disinformation and Propaganda

Milica Bogdanovic

Podgorica: South East European Network for Professionalization of Media (SEENPM) (2021), 27 pp.

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Courage Against Hate

Facebook (2021), 128 pp.

"The Courage Against Hate initiative has been brought together by Facebook for the purpose of sparking cross-sector, pan-European dialogue and action to combat hate speech and extremism. This collection of articles unites European academic analysis with practitioners who are actively working on coun ... more

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Final Report

Commission on Information Disorder

Aspen Institute (2021), 78 pp.

"This report is the culmination of an in-depth investigation aimed at better defining the causes and challenges of information disorder, and offering a viable framework for action [...] The Aspen Institute’s Commission on Information Disorder invited voices from across our society to help build up ... more

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Beyond Fake News: The Central African Republic’s Hate Speech Problem

Brianna Ferebee, Rachel Sullivan

United States Institute of Peace (USIP), August 16 (2021)

"After a recent contested election, the Central African Republic finds itself in a precarious situation. Violence around the election combined with the socio-economic impacts of COVID-19 and destructive flooding have caused the humanitarian emergency to reach its worst state in five years. Meanwhile ... more

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Google Scholar (17)

WorldCat (18)

Disinformation and Fake News

Shashi Jayakumar, Benjamin Ang, Nur Diyanah Anwar (eds.)

Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan (2021), xii, 158 pp.

"While much has been said about individual disinformation campaigns in specific countries, this book offers a panoramic view of how these campaigns are conducted, who they target, and how they are spread. By bringing together research on specific countries and international data mined from questionn ... more

GFMD Impact: Disinformation Quick Overview

Desinformation: Risiken, Regulierungslücken und adäquate Gegenmaßnahmen Top Insights

Resist 2: Counter-Disinformation Toolkit Key Guidance

Disinformation and freedom of opinion and expression: Report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression Quick Overview

Disinformation Toolkit 2.0: How Civil Society and Non-Governmental Organizations Can Combat Harmful Mis- and Disinformation Key Guidance

GFMD Impact: Disinformation
Quick Overview

Desinformation: Risiken, Regulierungslücken und adäquate Gegenmaßnahmen
Top Insights

Resist 2: Counter-Disinformation Toolkit
Key Guidance

Disinformation and freedom of opinion and expression: Report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
Quick Overview

Disinformation Toolkit 2.0: How Civil Society and Non-Governmental Organizations Can Combat Harmful Mis- and Disinformation
Key Guidance