Online Political Influence and Misinformation
On May 13 2024, the Forum for Research on Media and Democracy in Eastern Europe (FROMDEE) and the Stockholm Institute of Transition Economics (SITE) are organizing a conference in Stockholm on “Online Political Influence and Misinformation” with a keynote lecture by Jacob Shapiro (Princeton University).
Conference Brief
Online platforms, such as Facebook and X, have significantly impacted democratic processes. By enabling individuals to connect with millions of other users and potential voters, they have empowered citizen journalists and grassroots movements. However, these platforms have also dramatically accelerated the spread of misinformation and disinformation in society through fake news and conspiracy theories. Many online misinformation campaigns are conducted by foreign actors seeking to sow discord and undermine liberal democratic values. Our conference aims to bring together academics, policymakers, and civil society to highlight these online threats and discuss how our societies can effectively respond to them.
Keynote Speaker
Jacob Shapiro (Princeton University)
Professor Shapiro will be talking about Russian foreign influence campaigns in Western democracies. His lecture will be followed by two policy panels featuring policymakers, journalists, and academics:
- (i) Russian disinformation campaigns;
- (ii) Social media and media literacy.
Speakers
- Magnus Hjort (Director General of the Swedish Psychological Defence Agency)
- Yelyzaveta Chekhovska (Senior Analyst at VoxCheck, VoxUkraine)
- Sonja Buchegger (Professor of Computer Science at KTH)
- Zhenqi Liu (Assistant Professor at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School)
- Inga Springe (Investigative journalist and co-founder of Re:Baltica)
- Michael Rochlitz (Associate Professor at the University of Oxford)
Registration and Program
The event will take place in the Aula, located in the main building of SSE and the registration opens at 13.30 outside the Aula. Please proceed with your registration via the Trippus platform by clicking the following link (see here). See the program in the following link (see here). Please contact site@hhs.se if you have any questions regarding the event.
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed during events and conferences are those of the authors; they do not necessarily reflect those of the FREE Network and its research institutes.
The conference is organised as part of the FREE Network Initiative Forum for Research on Media and Democracy in Eastern Europe (FROMDEE), supported by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).
About FROMDEE
In 2021 the FREE Network initiated the Forum for Research on Media and Democracy in Eastern Europe (FROMDEE). The long-run goal of FROMDEE is to help strengthen media and democracy in the region and bring together researchers with experience doing empirical work on these topics while facilitating the exchange of data and contextual knowledge across the FREE network, as well as building capacity to work on the frontier of social and data science.