Media and Democracy in the Digital Age

Deliberating key challenges facing democratic societies in the context of the changing media and information landscape in the digital age

The platform “Media and Democracy in the Digital Age” explores some of the key challenges facing democratic societies in the context of the changing media and information landscape in the digital age. It features a unique mosaic of perspectives and insights by experts from Germany and Israel with the aim of invigorating a societal debate as well as offering concrete ideas about how to address them. The platform is a fruit of collaboration between the Heinrich Böll Foundation and the Israeli Public Policy Institute (IPPI).

Expert Interviews

"Disinformation is not just any piece of “fake news” – It's the deliberate dissemination of false or misleading information"

Interview

A conversation with Dr. Ulrike Klinger about political communication, the transformation of digital public spheres, local communication and the challenges to democracy in the digital age.

"Disinformation becomes detrimental to democracy if political elites employ it deliberately and strategically"

Interview

A conversation with Alexander Sängerlaub about the digital transformation of the public sphere, its consequences for democracy and the role of education and media literacy in fostering democratic resilience in the digital age.

"Deescalating polarization will contribute to diminishing the problem of misinformation"

Interview

A conversation with Nicole Krause from the Life Sciences Communication Department at the University of Wisconsin about science and political communication and ways to communicate more effectively with conservative, religious and rural audiences.

"We need to "vaccinate" people against misinformation so that they can identify suspicious information on their own"

Interview

A conversation with Dr. Erez Garty from the Davidson Institute about misinformation around Covid-19 in Israel, vaccine hesitancy and what is needed to make a dent in the problem of science denialism and propagation of conspiracy theories.

"Things are not going to change until change happens in the US"

Interview

A conversation with Danny Rogers from the Global Disinformation Index (GDI) on the business model behind disinformation activities and ways to defund and disincentivize their propagators by providing the industry with clear definitions and data.

"We work to make the political campaigning environment more trustworthy, transparent and comprehensible for people."

Interview

A conversation with Sam Jeffers, Co-Founder of "Who Targets Me", about the power of social media, and particularly, of social media advertising in influencing people in election campaigns and ways of making the political campaigning environment more trustworthy, transparent and comprehensible for people.

"Our democracy is only as good as the information that voters have"

Interview

A conversation with Carlos Hernández- Echevarría from Maldita.es, a Spanish independent journalistic platform focused on the control of disinformation and public discourse through fact-checking and data journalism techniques.

"The basis for democratic discourse in the age of social media is skewed"

Interview

A conversation with Ori Kol, Co-Founder of the Israeli disinformation watchdog FakeReporter, about social media, democracy and the dynamics of public discourse in the digital age in Israel, and beyond.

"We should focus on reaching the ones who are most vulnerable to disinformation"

Interview

A conversation with Rebecca Winkels from Science in Dialog about the importance and strategies of building bridges between the science community and all parts of society, in Germany and beyond.

Analysis & Explainers

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss attends G7 Summit Day Two

What is Gendered Disinformation?

Explainer

One can say that fake news is old news, and so are misogyny, sexism, and gender stereotypes. What has changed in the digital era is the ease of coordinating, financing, and propagating disinformation campaigns.

By Maria Giovanna Sessa

How does the DSA contribute to platform governance and tackle disinformation?

Spotlight

The DSA could help addressing the challenges of harmful content and disinformation online by increasing the legal protections while encouraging platforms to be more transparent and accountable without imposing requirements to generally monitor content.

By Giovanni De Gregorio

Communicating Science to Everyone: Accessibility in the Israeli Digital Public Sphere

Commentary

COVID-19 has had disproportionate effects on minority groups. This text draws on research on COVID-19 among ultra-Orthodox Jews to offer a toolkit for policy makers enabling tailored health-related communication.

By Lea Taragin-Zeller

Where does Israel stand among EU countries in terms of its citizens' resilience to misinformation?

Spotlight

As dis- and misinformation continues to surge around the ongoing pandemic and the vaccines, citizens' trust in democratic institutions is constantly put to the test. This Spotlight explores the various factors that account for a country's level of resilience to mis- and disinformation via the prism of the Media Literacy Index (MLI) and integrates the case of Israel for the first time into the analysis.

By Marin Lessenski

The Weakest Links - Why we Cannot Look at our Information Environment Platform-by-Platform

Spotlight

In a hyperlinked media ecosystem, separate actions taken by distinct online platforms to curb disinformation efforts are falling short as adversarial actors forge ahead. This Spotlight describes two emerging ways in which actors have used cross-platform tactics to successfully execute disinformation campaigns.

By Adi Cohen

A Thriving Digital Public Sphere - Why the "Legacy" Media Still Matters - and Must - Contribute

Explainer

The conventional news media, in particular, print publications, are widely regarded as vulnerable to existential threats in the digital area. Nevertheless, there are many indications that conventional news media, although somewhat reduced in scale, continues to play an essential role in the news environment, contributing to the health of our public sphere.

By Dieter Zinnbauer

Misinformation on the web. Illustration by Carlos PX (http://payforlayers.com/)

Digital Media and Information Literacy: A Response to Information Disorder

Spotlight

This piece proposes digital media and information literacy (DMIL) education as a proactive framework to empower citizens to access, analyze, create, and reflect on the media in order to guarantee freedom of information and expression.

By Mira Feuerstein

Can Israel's Digital Media and Information Literacy Curriculum Help Students Engage with a "Post-Truth" World?

Commentary

In response to the challenge of misinformation online, Israel launched a digital media and information literacy (DMIL) education curriculum and made it available for schools nationwide. In its current form, the Israeli DMIL education curriculum is lacking. Policymakers should consider three additional prisms of the challenge, which call for complementary educational responses.

By Aviv Sharon

The PCR Test Truth Rally & March, Jan 30, 2021

Interventions against misinformation: Don’t forget motivation

Commentary

Decades of social science research have shown that people do not always process information carefully. Instead, we are “cognitive misers” who prefer to reduce effortful reasoning by relying on simple mental structures called “heuristics.” This is true even in encounters with misinformation.

By Nicole M. Krause and Isabelle Freiling

Digital Campaigns’ Trends in the General Elections for the 24th Knesset

Spotlight

Social media platforms have significantly changed the ways in which political campaigns are run, due to their tremendous effect on how we form opinions and attitudes, as well as on our choice as to whether to become politically involved. This Spotlight focuses on the digital campaigns that accompanied the general elections for the 24th Knesset on March 2021.

By Sharon Haleva-Amir

First pass - uksg twitter echochamber.png

What are Filter Bubbles and Digital Echo Chambers?

Explainer

Many experts are concerned that the curation of content on social media platforms limit our chances of encountering challenging viewpoints. Filter bubbles and digital echo chambers are therefore seen as one of the main causes of polarization and radicalization online.

By Judith Möller

Publications

Human Cognition and Online Behavior During the First Social Media Pandemic

Policy Paper

The Covid-19 pandemic has flooded global information platforms with an unprecedented amount of information. How can we increase resilience to misinformation and manipulation in response to crises, and the flood of information they engender?

By Dr. Philipp Lorenz-Spreen

Download

Fostering Israel’s Democratic Resilience in the Digital Age

Policy Paper

Disinformation has become a widespread phenomenon in recent years, reaching a peak in attention during the COVID-19 pandemic. Which protective mechanisms against the viral spread of misinformation are needed in Israel and around the world?

By Noa Barak

Download

Telling Facts from Fakes

Policy Paper

Israel is famous for scientific research and technological innovation. However, when it comes to science communications, Israel is behind other countries. The COVID-19 pandemic additionally exposed a confidence crisis between the public and the scientific community. How can we bolster public trust in science and effectively battle the infodemic?

By Dr. Erez S. Garty

Download

Disrupted Democracies

Policy Paper

The use of disinformation to influence citizens in key moments such as elections has shed light on the challenges new technologies pose to democracies. How can a multi-stakeholder approach effectively face this problem and consolidate democratic foundations?

By Rafael Goldzweig

Download

Battling Misinformation with Science

Policy Paper

Misinformation and conspiracy myths pose a huge challenge to science communication as well as to an effective tackling of a global health crisis. This paper takes a closer look at the German response to the pandemic with a focus on trust in science, government’s measures and the spread of conspiracy myths.

By Markus Weißkopf and Rebecca Winkels

Download

Trust, Democratic Resilience, and the Infodemic

Policy Paper

By focusing on the nexus between trust and mis- and disinformation this policy paper reveals the effects of trust reduction in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. How can societal resilience to mis- and disinformation be promoted and trust in democratic institutions reinforced?

By Edda Humprecht

Download

Workshops and Events

Panel discussion during the experts' workshop on the topic of democratic resilience in the digital age

Experts' Workshop - Fostering Democratic Resilience in the Digital Age

Experts' workshop on the topic of democratic resilience in the digital age

Partners

Invisible Surveillance, Indifferent Publics

Research Paper

Contact tracing technologies against Covid-19 – analysis of privacy perceptions related to two technologies used in Israel and recommendations for the future

pdf

Eroding Trust

Research Paper

Contract tracing technologies – helpful tools for combatting COVID-19 or serious threats to privacy? An analysis of two contact tracing technologies in Israel

pdf

The German Corona-App: Expectations, Debates and Results

Research Paper

The German Corona Warning app - a success story or not worth its costs? Insights into the app and the debate surrounding it.

pdf

Media and Democracy in the Digital Age

Deliberating key challenges facing democratic societies in the context of the changing media and information landscape in the digital age

“Legal tools to suppress disinformation can do more harm than good”

“We want to deter politicians from spreading false information”

"Policymakers need to empower people to make good decisions online"

"In dealing with disinformation, many different things need to come together"

"The pandemic has put a magnifying glass on misinformation”

"Disinformation is not just any piece of “fake news” – It's the deliberate dissemination of false or misleading information"

"Disinformation becomes detrimental to democracy if political elites employ it deliberately and strategically"

"Deescalating polarization will contribute to diminishing the problem of misinformation"

"We need to "vaccinate" people against misinformation so that they can identify suspicious information on their own"

"Things are not going to change until change happens in the US"

"We work to make the political campaigning environment more trustworthy, transparent and comprehensible for people."

"Our democracy is only as good as the information that voters have"

"The basis for democratic discourse in the age of social media is skewed"

"We should focus on reaching the ones who are most vulnerable to disinformation"

What is Gendered Disinformation?

How does the DSA contribute to platform governance and tackle disinformation?

Communicating Science to Everyone: Accessibility in the Israeli Digital Public Sphere

Where does Israel stand among EU countries in terms of its citizens' resilience to misinformation?

The Weakest Links - Why we Cannot Look at our Information Environment Platform-by-Platform

A Thriving Digital Public Sphere - Why the "Legacy" Media Still Matters - and Must - Contribute

Digital Media and Information Literacy: A Response to Information Disorder

Can Israel's Digital Media and Information Literacy Curriculum Help Students Engage with a "Post-Truth" World?

Interventions against misinformation: Don’t forget motivation

Digital Campaigns’ Trends in the General Elections for the 24th Knesset

What are Filter Bubbles and Digital Echo Chambers?

Human Cognition and Online Behavior During the First Social Media Pandemic

Fostering Israel’s Democratic Resilience in the Digital Age

Telling Facts from Fakes

Disrupted Democracies

Battling Misinformation with Science

Trust, Democratic Resilience, and the Infodemic

Invisible Surveillance, Indifferent Publics

Eroding Trust

The German Corona-App: Expectations, Debates and Results