The United States government has chosen to unilaterally disarm in the global contest for truth and integrity, even as authoritarians and technology companies find increasing alignment. The abrupt shuttering of our information integrity instruments comes with significant risks, leaving Americans, and people worldwide, increasingly exposed to an information ecosystem designed to manipulate the public and erode social trust.
The global information space is closing; the U.S. integrity community must now critically assess our past efforts, confront difficult realities, and urgently chart a new, resilient strategy for the road ahead. Failure to do so would be a massive win for authoritarians and their repressive global agenda.
Join Adam Fivenson as he explores what “starting over” should look like, the hard lessons that must be confronted, and the strategic choices that will define the future of democratic resilience.
Watch the recording here:
Speaker: Adam Fivenson, researcher and non-resident Fellow at the American University Center for Security, Innovation & New Technology (CSINT)
Adam Fivenson researches and writes on democracy, technology and the information environment, with an aim to drive innovation in democratic practice around the globe. Across a 20 year career, Adam has led research on civil society-led innovations in combating authoritarian information manipulation for the National Endowment for Democracy; built award-winning digital tools to fight corruption in Central America; and conducted first-of-its-kind design research on digital adoption in more than a dozen countries at the dawn of the social media age. Currently he is a non-resident fellow at American University’s Center for Security, Innovation, and New Technology, a former Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, and a Principal at Five Suns Global, a boutique international consulting firm. His work has appeared in the Washington Post, New York Times, Tech Policy Press, Just Security, the Cognitive Crucible, TVP and This is HCD. a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Chair of Media Studies of the University of Amsterdam. He investigates disinformation and propaganda ecosystems using OSINT and CV analysis to map organisational structures, practices, and their role in digital authoritarianism and information control.
Moderator: Maria Giovanna Sessa, Research Manager, EU DisinfoLab
Maria Giovanna Sessa is the Research Manager at EU DisinfoLab. She holds a Ph.D. in Political Science and has previously worked for research foundations, think tanks, and as a university teaching assistant. She authored blog posts, book chapters, articles, and an e-book, as her research interests focus on the use of disinformation in political communication, gender-based attacks, and international crises, including FIMI. Lately, she has been working around DSA enforcement, linking research and policy implementation.
The opinions expressed are those of the speakers/authors and do not necessarily reflect the position of EU DisinfoLab. This webinar does not represent an endorsement by EU DisinfoLab of any organisation.