It’s Time to Reframe Disinformation

In this second article in a series exploring the intersection of technology and pivotal international elections in 2024 — organized by CIGI in partnership with the Centre for the Study of Democratic Institutions at the University of British Columbia — Ross Tapsell looks at the new type of narrative manipulation that led to a decisive win at the polls for Prabowo Subianto on February 14.

Tapsell says the cruise to victory for Prabowo, a former general accused of human rights abuses and the former son-in-law of Indonesian dictator Suharto, is concerning for democracy and demands we rethink disinformation: “In a sense, Prabowo’s campaign is the opposite of what we understand disinformation to be.…It was a fake campaign without fake news. AI was used to sanitize discourse rather than muddy it.”

“Fewer than nine months now separate the world from a possible second Trump presidency. Despite facing multiple criminal cases and widespread media condemnation, Donald Trump is favoured to return to the White House in 2025.…Trump’s overarching argument is that citizens of the United States have been the victims of elite mismanagement. And there is certainly truth to this: in 2024, the United States is arguably a shadow of its former self.”

As America faces a turning point, Daniel Araya discusses the possible implications of a second Trump term, including on domestic and foreign policy issues and the United States’ competitive position in a multipolar world, while warning that “Trump’s instinctive ethno-nationalism could mean dramatic and even violent changes ahead.”

The Digital Policy Hub at CIGI is a collaborative space for emerging scholars and innovative thinkers from the social, natural and applied sciences. Here are the latest working papers from Hub fellows:

Maral Niazi: “Conceptualizing Global Governance of AI”

Andrew Heffernan: “The Climate Policy Crisis: Governing Disinformation in the Digital Age”

Paula Martins: “How Can Impact Assessments Improve Protection from TFGBV?”

Follow the links on the Hub webpage to find out more about the Hub scholars and their work!

“Today, as Canadians face a reflexively protectionist Democratic Party and the possible return of Trump to the White House, with all the turmoil this would entail, it’s impossible not to reflect on the great gulf that separates us from the era of Mulroney and Reagan. And it’s impossible not to mourn the passing of a man who led with reason, a sense of compromise, wit and a vast ambition to better the state of his fellow Canadians.”

In this op-ed first published by The Line, Michael Den Tandt marks the passing of former Canadian prime minister Brian Mulroney, paying tribute to his “pivotal leadership” and willingness to take “bold — even risky — moves when he thought they were needed, which was often.”

Apr. 25 – 3:00 p.m. EDT (UTC–04:00): Please note new start time.
Join us online for a discussion on ⿻數位 Plurality with E. Glen Weyl and CIGI President Paul Samson.

While digital technology threatens to tear our free and open societies apart through polarization, inequality, loneliness and fear, on a delicate, diverse and politically divided East Asian island things are different. In the decade since the occupation of Taiwan’s parliament, this island of resilience achieved inclusive, technology-fuelled growth, and entrusted the people to tackle shared challenges such as environmental protection, while capitalizing on a culture of innovation to “hack the government.”

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The Public Affairs department at CIGI has an opening for a Publications Editor; the deadline for applications is March 22.

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