Digital Disinformation Workshop
Wed Feb 27, 13:00 - Wed Feb 27, 15:00
Department of Journalism, Stellenbosch University
ABOUT
This workshop is a pre-conference workshop for 14th International Conference on Cyber Warfare and Security.
Disinformation is defined as content, stories or information that is published with the intent to do public harm. With South Africa’s Elections coming up later this year, the spread of such
disinformation, particularly on social media platforms, is set to be one of the biggest stumbling blocks to holding credible national elections. Countries such as America, Macedonia, France, Brazil and Venezuela have all witnessed how online narratives and viral messages can affect democracy on-the-ground, often
with dire consequences.
So, how easily can you identify real vs rubbish information online? Join us for a bit of fun as we delve into the world of bots, trolls and viral content. We will give some tips and tools that can help us
distinguish the false from the factual. We will also highlight some of the key ways in which nefarious forces use social media to spread their (dodgy) narratives. You are guaranteed to be a credible news sleuth and bot-slayer by the end of the session!
What you will learn: Not only will we provide some practical examples of how online narratives have influenced local decision-making, during the workshop we will showcase the following tools that we
have developed:
1) RoveR (to help spot Real over Rubbish news) is an app to help build local digital and media literacy skills as well as tackle dodgy online news
2) KnowNews Extension is a browser plug-in and available on https://www.newstools.co.za which
shows whether a news site is dodgy or credible
3) Digital Disinformation Complaints Committee is a complaints process whereby members of the public can submit content that they think might be disinformation. This content is assessed by a series of trained reviewers and recommendations are then submitted to the IEC (Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa) for confirmation. This process is a world first as we attempt to navigate and combat disinformation in South Africa in the lead-up to our national elections.
Join us as we demonstrate some of the ways in which we (and you can too!) take practical steps to push back against the tide of digital disinformation.