Managing Change in Media Space: Social Media, Information Disorder, and Voting Dynamics – WS 02 2024
18 June 2024 | 15:00 - 16:00 EEST | Workshop 2a | WS room 1
18 June 2024 | 16:45 - 17:45 EEST | Workshop 2b | WS room 1
Consolidated programme 2024 overview
Proposals: #7 (#27) (#35) #37 #53 #54 (#60) #61 #80 #83 (see list of proposals)
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What used to be the public sphere – in Europe and elsewhere – is undergoing fragmentation and disintermediation, as traditional media is ceding its role as the fulcrum for public opinion formation. With the dominance of social media platforms and proliferation of more advanced technologies, such as generative AI, the media environment of political processes is increasingly prone to disinformation, particularly during elections. These workshops will look at the challenges and opportunities presented by the changing media landscape, including its consequences for democracy, and highlight best practices on how to enhance digital literacy, address disinformation and strengthen independent media.
Session description
Questions to be Addressed by the Workshop:
- What are the primary implications of the fragmented and disintermediated media space for sustaining democratic processes?
- What roles do governments, civil society, and media actors play in addressing these issues and fostering resilient democracies?
- How the EU digital regulations, such as the Digital Single Market Initiatives (DMA, DSA), impacted European elections? The speaker will address how each legislation piece works together, what to expect when they come into force, and what has been done so far.
- What has been happening in other elections around the world and how is this relevant for the EU / what similarities are there?
- What have the platforms learnt globally, and how does that impact the EU?
- How does the use of artificial intelligence (AI) contribute to the spread of disinformation online, and what implications does this have for the electoral process and political campaigns?
- What gaps need to be addressed to effectively combat disinformation and other issues arising from the current media landscape, and at what levels should these efforts be focused? Guidance Note on countering the spread of online mis- and disinformation will be presented
- How can educational initiatives be designed to build resilience against disinformation and promote critical media literacy?
- What roles do educational institutions and policymakers play in fostering a media environment that supports democratic principles and combats the spread of misleading information? How can initiatives be brought into the curricula?
Expected Outcomes:
By attending this session, participants will:
- Enhance their understanding of the current state of the media space and its implications for democratic processes at both societal and individual levels.
- Gain insights into EU digital policy regulation and its anticipated impact on the European elections, lessons learned and how much is this applicable elsewhere.
- How platforms face conflicting issues such as freedom of expression/content moderation during elections
- Identify challenges and opportunities for creating a less polluted media space that fosters resilient democracies.
- Explore potential solutions to current regulatory gaps, such as self and co-regulation instruments.
- Learn about educational initiatives designed to build resilience against disinformation and the role of policymakers and educational institutions in cultivating critical media literacy.
Format
Each panel member will present a brief overview of their views and perspectives. This will be followed by an interactive open discussion with all attendees to hear opinions, ideas, concepts and recommendations.
On the topic of EU elections, panellist will structure their views as follows:
- First, what happened and lessons learned
- What can be done better
- How can this be replicated
Further reading
- Through the Digital Lens: A review of the effects of digital mediatisation in journalism and politics
https://eplus.uni-salzburg.at/JKM/periodical/pageview/8764670 - EDMO Task Force on 2024 European Elections
https://edmo.eu/thematic-areas/european-elections/edmo-taskforce-on-2024-european-elections/ - Voluntary Election Integrity Guidelines for Technology Companies (by International Foundation for Electroral Systems)
ttps://electionsandtech.org/election-integrity-guidelines-for-tech-companies/ - Seven priorities for online platforms during elections (by Article 19)
https://www.article19.org/resources/seven-priorities-for-online-platforms-during-elections/ - A Tech Accord to Combat Deceptive Use of AI in 2024 Elections
https://www.aielectionsaccord.com/
People
Please provide name and institution for all people you list here.
Programme Committee member(s)
- Meri Baghdasaryan
- Yrjö Länsipuro
The Programme Committee supports the programme planning process throughout the year and works closely with the Secretariat. Members of the committee give advice on the topics, cluster the proposals and assist session organisers in their work. They also ensure that session principles are followed and monitor the complete programme to avoid repetition.
Focal Point
- Luis Manuel Arellano Cervantes (Part 1)
- Monojit Das (Part 2)
Focal Points take over the responsibility and lead of the session organisation. They work in close cooperation with the respective Programme Committee member(s) and the EuroDIG Secretariat and are kindly requested to follow EuroDIG’s session principles
Organising Team (Org Team) List Org Team members here as they sign up.
- Riccardo Nanni
- Giacomo Mazzone
- Emilia Zalewska-Czajczyńska, NASK PIB
- Charlotte Gilmartin
- Octavian Sofransky, CoE
- Ximena Lainfiesta
- Narine Khachatryan
- Mzia Gogilashvili
- Phaedra de Saint-Rome
The Org Team is a group of people shaping the session. Org Teams are open and every interested individual can become a member by subscribing to the mailing list.
Key Participants
- Irena Guidikova (Council of Europe)
- Afia Asantewaa Asare-Kyei (Director for Justice & Accountability, Open Society Foundations-Africa)
- Dr. Tilak Jha, Associate Professor at Bennett University, India (online)
Moderator
- TBC
Remote Moderator
Trained remote moderators will be assigned on the spot by the EuroDIG secretariat to each session.
Reporter
Reporters will be assigned by the EuroDIG secretariat in cooperation with the Geneva Internet Platform. The Reporter takes notes during the session and formulates 3 (max. 5) bullet points at the end of each session that:
- are summarised on a slide and presented to the audience at the end of each session
- relate to the particular session and to European Internet governance policy
- are forward looking and propose goals and activities that can be initiated after EuroDIG (recommendations)
- are in (rough) consensus with the audience
Current discussion, conference calls, schedules and minutes
See the discussion tab on the upper left side of this page. Please use this page to publish:
- dates for virtual meetings or coordination calls
- short summary of calls or email exchange
Please be as open and transparent as possible in order to allow others to get involved and contact you. Use the wiki not only as the place to publish results but also to summarize the discussion process.
Messages
A short summary of the session will be provided by the Reporter.
Video record
Will be provided here after the event.
Transcript
Will be provided here after the event.