Nina Jankowicz - Normalisation of Disinformation as Political Tool Accelerating Distrust in Democracy

We are at risk of losing the information war. The widespread normalisation of disinformation as a political tool is accelerating distrust in democratic institutions and processes. But online disinformation has offline consequences, as we saw during the coronavirus pandemic and on January 6th in Washington. Malicious actors such as Russia and China have also proved adept at weaponizing information for their foreign policy objectives. Governments have held off from intervening strongly in the online media sphere, for fear of wrecking classical, enlightened liberalism, but at what cost? What are the risks that online disinformation will contribute to the dismantling of democracy?

Nina Jankowicz is an author, advocate for targets of online abuse and internationally recognized expert on disinformation and democratization. Her debut book, How to Lose the Information War (Bloomsbury 2020), was named a New Statesman 2020 book of the year. Her second book came out last year and is called: ‘How to Be a Woman Online’. Nina is Currently the Vice President, U.S., at the Centre for Information Resilience. She has advised governments, international organizations, and tech companies. She has also testified before the United States Congress, UK Parliament, and European Parliament. Jankowicz has extensive media experience, and has bene published in many major American newspapers and magazines, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Atlantic. She is a regular guest on major radio and television programs such as the PBS Newshour, CNN’s Fareed Zakaria GPS and Amanpour, and the BBC World Service. She is fluent in Russian and speaks proficient Ukrainian and Polish.