Digital Democracy Project to examine online disinformation

Source: Max Bell School of Public Policy Public Policy Forum President & CEO Edward Greenspon and recently appointed Max Bell School of Public Policy professor Taylor Owen announced the launch of a multi-year project to analyze and respond to the increasing amounts of disinformation and hate in the digital public sphere. The Digital Democracy Project (DDP) will commission research and journalism to gain a greater understanding of how disinformation is growing in the digital ecosystem. It will monitor digital and social media in real time, coordinate with international research and policy development projects, and develop public policy responses to counter these threats to democratic institutions and social cohesion. This work flows from PPF's earlier studies, including The Shattered Mirror: News, Democracy and Trust in the Digital Age and Democracy Divided: Countering Disinformation and Hate in the Digital Public Sphere. Mr. Greenspon and Professor Owen worked on both reports. The Digital Democracy Project will initially focus on studying and communicating the impact of misinformation in the lead-up to the October 2019 federal election. "We have learned through our previous research that this country lacks adequate understanding of what's being put through our media ecosystem by those seeking to divide and disorient Canadians for their own ideological, commercial or geo-political reasons," Mr. Greenspon said.