Governance and media in an age of misinformation

The rise of misinformation in the social media age has shaken the foundations of our traditional societal structures and changed how we think about the world around us.

Not only democratic elections and referenda, but vital public processes like the COVID vaccine delivery programme, are all vulnerable to misinformation, whether spread by concerted campaigning or simple mistakes and misunderstandings.

As we follow the twists and turns of the latest political and public health events across the world, it is important to evaluate the consequences of misinformation, identifying the harms caused and establishing what can be done to tackle the threats it poses.

Our next SPE Practitioner Series event, hosted by the Centre for British Politics and Government, will bring together three experts from academia, journalism and think tank research to discuss the key questions.

‘Governance and media in an age of misinformation’ will examine the relationship between misinformation and the media, assess the consequences of misinformation, look closely at who is involved in spreading misinformation and what governments can do to tackle it.

Panel

The panel will feature Brooke Binkowski, from the website Truth of Fiction, Professor Helen Margetts, from the Oxford Internet Institute, and Carl Miller, research director of the Centre for the Analysis of Social Media, DEMOS.

Damian Collins, MP for Folkestone and Hythe and co-founder of Infotagion, will also be joining the panel.

Dr Rod Dacombe, director of the Centre for British Politics and Government at King’s, will chair the event, which takes place on 18 February, from 16.30 – 18.30.

Future events planned in the SPE Practitioners Series include citizens’ engagement and deliberation, and civil service reform.