Influence and Influencers: Collaborative Models for Addressing Disinformation

Abstract: Misinformation, disinformation, propaganda, rumors - for several years now, there has been an increasing perception that the online information environment is unhealthy, though diagnoses vary. Much of the conversation on how to mitigate information disorder has focused on content moderation and fact checking - addressing the substance, reactively. In this talk, I discuss some of the structural dynamics of influence operations, including commonalities in behavior across actor types, and ways in which algorithms, affordances, and agency intersect to form a mutually-shaping participatory information environment. I then cover some of SIO's work toward collaborative models for mitigation that span disciplines and stakeholder types, leveraging policy, education, and design.