April 2, 2022

Arizona State University: PBS presents ‘The Futures of Democracy’ podcast

Arizona State University: PBS presents ‘The Futures of Democracy’ podcast. “PBS presents ‘The Futures of Democracy’ podcast, launching on March 30 and produced and hosted by Nicole Anderson, director of the Institute for Humanities Research at Arizona State University, and Julian Knowles, professor of media and music, and chair of media and communications at Macquarie University, Australia. In this bi-weekly podcast series, world-renowned experts will examine the emerging challenges of possible futures for democracy in the 21st century. The project reflects upon the health and operation of our democracy as a common good in an environment that has profoundly shifted over the past 20 years. “

New Resources 0
March 12, 2022

European Parliament: European Parliament launches website in cooperation with Ukrainian Parliament

European Parliament: European Parliament launches website in cooperation with Ukrainian Parliament. “‘The EU stands with Ukraine’: the website (in English and Ukrainian) set up by Parliament, provides the latest news, videos and podcasts, relevant legislation and resolutions to show how the EU is helping Ukraine. Content from the Ukrainian Parliament could also be shared on the site. Actively supporting EU efforts to promote democracy and human rights in the world is one of Parliament’s core responsibilities.”

New Resources 0
March 1, 2022

The Verge: The Internet Is A Force Multiplier For Ukraine

The Verge: The Internet Is A Force Multiplier For Ukraine. “After being widely credited for Trump’s election in 2016, and preparing to initiate the biggest war of the social network era, Russia might have been expected to excel at information warfare. Instead, like the rest of the war, it has gone quite badly for them. It is Ukraine that has been masterful in its use of social media — and while that may not prove decisive in whether or not it overcomes Russia’s superior military, at the very least it complicates our understanding of big tech and democracy. Today, let’s talk about how.”

Around the Search & Social Media World 0
December 12, 2021

Council of Europe: Welcome to the new website dedicated to promoting participatory democracy!

Council of Europe: Welcome to the new website dedicated to promoting participatory democracy!. “On this newly re-launched website you can find the latest news on Council of Europe activities in the field of participatory democracy, such as Academies on Civil Participation or Trainings for civil society actors and public authorities on innovative participatory tools, key documents on Council for Europe standards, and guidelines and or innovative practical tools for practitioners.”

New Resources 0
July 26, 2020

New York Jewish Week: Digital Archive Takes Talmudic Approach to America’s Founding Texts

New York Jewish Week: Digital Archive Takes Talmudic Approach to America’s Founding Texts. “Could democracy take a page from the Talmud? The creators of Sefaria think so. Since 2012 the website has offered free access to classic Jewish texts and linked commentary, establishing itself as an invaluable resource for millions of teachers, students and scholars. Now it’s applying the same approach to foundational texts of American democracy.”

New Resources 0
January 23, 2019

Stanford PACS: Glasnost! Nine Ways Facebook Can Make Itself a Better Forum for Free Speech and Democracy

Stanford PACS: Glasnost! Nine Ways Facebook Can Make Itself a Better Forum for Free Speech and Democracy. “Facebook could make nine ‘incremental’ changes to ensure it becomes a better forum for free speech and democracy, according to a new report by academics at the University of Oxford in the UK and Stanford University in the US. Proposals include: an external appeals body; more user control over News Feeds; and better content review and fact-check mechanisms.” The report is available for free download at this link.

Research & Opinion 0
November 21, 2018

Schneier on Security: Information Attacks against Democracies

Schneier on Security: Information Attacks against Democracies. “Democracy is an information system. That’s the starting place of our new paper: ‘Common-Knowledge Attacks on Democracy.’ In it, we look at democracy through the lens of information security, trying to understand the current waves of Internet disinformation attacks. Specifically, we wanted to explain why the same disinformation campaigns that act as a stabilizing influence in Russia are destabilizing in the United States.”

Around the Search & Social Media World 0
April 29, 2018

Pew: Our expanded focus on trust, facts and the state of democracy

Pew (pew pew pew pew pew!): Our expanded focus on trust, facts and the state of democracy. “Today, we are issuing a comprehensive look at public attitudes on the state of American democracy. In the months ahead, we will examine how Americans balance the desire to address false news and First Amendment freedoms, explore how news consumers differentiate between fact and opinion in news content, and add to our existing research on how trust functions in democracies. We also plan to take a close look at public confidence in the electoral process. And in an upcoming 30-nation study, we will bring a global perspective to these issues.”

Research & Opinion 0
April 5, 2018

Brookings: Views of American democracy based on internet search data

Brookings: Views of American democracy based on internet search data. ” Critics complain that President Donald Trump has eroded democracy by violating norms of civility and undermining news organizations by accusing them of being purveyors of ‘fake news.’ Yale Law Professor Amy Chua has noted the rise of political tribalism that pits group against group and erodes common bonds… In this paper, we look at views of U.S. democracy using internet search data. We examine public interest in democracy, fake news, money in politics, ethics concerns, the rule of law, and major political institutions in order to gauge how Americans are reacting to recent developments.”

Research & Opinion 0
October 12, 2017

Pierre Omidyar: 6 ways social media has become a direct threat to democracy (Washington Post)

Washington Post: Pierre Omidyar: 6 ways social media has become a direct threat to democracy . “For all the ways this technology brings us together, the monetization and manipulation of information is swiftly tearing us apart. From foreign interference in our elections to targeted campaigns designed to confuse and divide on important social issues, groups looking for an effective way to infiltrate and influence our democracy have found generous hosts in the world of social media.”

Research & Opinion 0
July 5, 2017

MIT Technology Review: The Internet Doesn’t Have to Be Bad for Democracy

MIT Technology Review: The Internet Doesn’t Have to Be Bad for Democracy. “Tiny, largely self-funded U.S. startup Pol.is has been working on a similar project longer than Zuckerberg and already has some promising results. The company’s interactive, crowdsourced survey tool can be used to generate maps of public opinion that help citizens, governments, and legislators discover the nuances of agreement and disagreement on contentious issues that exist. In 2016, that information helped the government of Taiwan break a six-year deadlock over how to regulate online alcohol sales, caused by entrenched, opposing views among citizens on what rules should apply.”

Around the Search & Social Media World 0
September 10, 2016

Federal Archives of Germany Creating Portal for Weimar Republic Period

The Federal Archives of Germany is developing a portal for information about Germany’s Weimar Republic period. (This is a period that spanned 1919-1933 in German history.) The blog post is in German; from Google Translate: “Over a period of four years, a total of about 4 million digital copies and thus more than 7000 files are made available to users online from 2017th.” I tried to find a press release or something from Das Bundesarchiv, but no good. The English-language PR page was 404, and Google Translate wasn’t particularly helpful.

New Resources 0
July 30, 2016

NARA and Google Team Up

NARA and Google have teamed up. “…we are pleased to participate in Google Arts & Culture’s American Democracy collection, contributing thirteen interactive online exhibits that tell the story of presidential elections in the United States. These specially curated exhibits feature historic photos, documents, videos, and stories related to the history and evolution of elections, how we amend the Constitution, political cartoons and campaign memorabilia.”

Tweaks & Updates 0

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