Post-Truth Politics: Can Democracy Survive Disinformation?
Talk
Illustration by Pierre Buttin
Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library
901 G Street NW
Washington, DC , 20001
Monday, September 16, 2024 | 7:00pm
French and American experts to discuss critical skills for navigating obstacles to governance.
How is disinformation reshaping democratic societies? Experts Camille François, Nikole Hannah-Jones, and Piotr Smolar, under the guidance of moderator Steve Clemons, dissect the dangers posed by the spread of falsehoods in the digital age.
The concept ‘post-truth’ describes the cocktail of disinformation and devaluation of facts that Western democracies are facing. Disinformation, facilitated by AI, is polarizing public opinion, promoting violent extremism and hate speech and, ultimately, undermining our democracies and diminishing trust in our electoral and judicial systems. How can we measure the threat of disinformation and what tools do we have to offset its corrosive effects? How can we adjust our behaviors and mindset ––both as individuals and as a society –– to temper its destruction?
This event will explore:
- The evolving nature of false information online
- Social media’s dual role in spreading and combating disinformation
- Challenges in promoting critical thinking and media literacy
- International perspectives on protecting democratic discourse
- The global context and impact of disinformation campaigns
- Complexities of communicating facts in a “post-truth” environment
“Democracy in an Age of Uncertainty: French and American Perspectives,” a public discussion series from Villa Albertine taking place in person in and around Washington, DC, will give a voice to French and American experts and US-based audiences alike on topics as diverse as disinformation, civic and youth engagement, and more. Kicking off in 2024, the series will continue through 2026, marking the 250th anniversary of the United States Declaration of Independence.
Explore all “Democracy in an Age of Uncertainty” events here.
“Democracy in an Age of Uncertainty: French and American Perspectives” is made possible thanks to the Judy and Peter Blum Kovler Foundation.
Panelists
Camille François, Associate Professor, Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs
Camille Francois (she/her) is an Associate Professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, where she notably leads programs on Trust & Safety, and broader Technology & Democracy issues. She specializes in mitigating harms from digital technologies, having previously served as Senior Director for Trust & Safety at Niantic and Chief Innovation Officer at Graphika. Camille has advised governments and tech companies globally: she has led high-impact investigations and policy initiatives, including examining Russian interference for the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee and spearheading France’s national inquiry into the metaverse’s societal implications. In 2023, French President Macron appointed her to steer a national assembly on Information and Society.
Nikole Hannah-Jones, Creator, The 1619 Project; Staff Writer, The New York Times Magazine
Nikole Hannah-Jones is the Pulitzer Prize-winning creator of the 1619 Project and a staff writer at The New York Times Magazine. The book version of The 1619 Project as well as the 1619 Project children’s book, Born on the Water, were instant #1 New York Times bestsellers. Her 1619 Project is now a six-part docuseries on Hulu and won the Emmy for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series. Hannah-Jones has spent her career investigating racial inequality and injustice, and her reporting has earned her the MacArthur Fellowship, known as the Genius grant, a Peabody Award, two George Polk Awards and the National Magazine Award three times.
Read more here.
Piotr Smolar, Special Correspondent, Le Monde
Piotr Smolar is the senior correspondent of the French newspaper Le Monde in Washington. Before that, he covered French diplomacy (2019-2021) and was based in Jerusalem (2014-2019), writing on Israel and the Palestinian territories. He also lived in Russia for four years, witnessing the end of the Yeltsin era and Putin’s advent for the newspaper Le Figaro. Piotr Smolar is the author of a book on Russia’s heartland, Gloubinka, promenades au coeur de la Russie (L’Inventaire, 2002) and Mauvais Juif (L’Equateur, 2019), published in the US in September 2024 under the title Bad Jew (Other Press).
Moderated by Steve Clemons, Contributing Editor, The National Interest
Missed the event? Watch the full discussion below!
In partnership with
The Judy and Peter Blum Kovler Foundation
The Foundation’s work has included underwriting of such public spaces as Washington’s Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the Holocaust Museum; in New York, the new Statue of Liberty Museum; and in Chicago, as early supporters of the Obama Presidential Center. In connection to French culture and history, it has underwritten efforts at Notre Dame restoration, the Louvre Endowment, and to Holocaust studies including the 1988 Academy Award winning documentary, Hotel Terminus, the Life and Times of Klaus Barbie.
District of Columbia Public Library
The District of Columbia Public Library is a dynamic source of information, programs, books and other library materials and services that improve the quality of life for District residents of all ages that, when combined with expert staff, helps build a thriving city. The Library provides environments that invite reading, community conversation, creative inspiration and exploration, lectures, films, computer access and use, workforce and economic development, storytimes for children, and much more. DC Public Library includes the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library and 25 neighborhood libraries and also provides services in nontraditional settings outside of the library buildings. DC Public Library enriches and nourishes the lives and minds of all District residents, provides them with the services and tools needed to transform lives, and builds and supports community throughout the District of Columbia.
For more information, click here.
Related content