Disinformation is not a new phenomenon, but new media give it unprecedented momentum. That calls for a tailored approach. Disinformation can trigger toxic polarisation or hate speech and puts democracy under pressure, at local level too. Fake news and incitement to hatred also have an impact on local politicians.
In this webinar we reveal the impact disinformation can have on local government and look for ways to take action. What can local governments do to tackle disinformation in practice? What are the possible stumbling blocks? And what are good practices?
Wilma Delissen-van Tongerlo, Mayor of Peel en Maas (the Netherlands), wrote a report together with Swedish regional politician Kristoffer Tamsons and English emeritus professor of political science Colin Copus on the impact of hate speech and fake news on local government. With it, they hope to open up the discussion on this topic in Europe. The report has since been discussed in the specialist committee of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe.
Olivier Cauberghs is a former radicalisation expert with the Federal Police and is now head of Textgain Academy. Textgain offers solutions in text analysis and processing, including extracting information from written text, understanding sentiment in texts and identifying particular patterns or trends. At Textgain, Olivier coordinates projects with local governments that focus on the online detection of disinformation and hate speech.
Moderation is in the hands of Landry Mawungu, valorisation coordinator at the Hannah Arendt Institute.