In our most recent episode of Security Nation, we spoke with Maria Barsallo Lynch, Executive Director of the Defending Digital Democracy Project (D3P) at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School, about her work informing election officials of the rise of misinformation and disinformation campaigns centered around elections.
Read on to learn about what the Defending Digital Democracy Project does, the difference between misinformation and disinformation, and what election officials (and the general public!) can do to better combat the spread of false information.
What is the Defending Digital Democracy Project?
The Defending Digital Democracy Project is a group of bipartisan experts in politics, cybersecurity, technology, and national security who work to identify and recommend strategies and resources for decision-makers in the democratic process as they work to counter cyber and information attacks. The project was started in 2017 in response to the presumed impact of false information on the 2016 presidential election. Since before the midterm elections, the organization has trained and worked with hundreds of election officials nationwide to help them understand how to recognize instances of misinformation and disinformation and counter them—quickly.
What is the difference between misinformation and disinformation?
According to Maria, the spread of false information is not new, and, in fact, is actually a traditional tactic seen during wartime. But now that this strategy has evolved to live in digital mediums, it is important to understand where false information comes from. While the terms “misinformation” and “disinformation” may sound interchangeable, they do have key differences.
Disinformation is false or inaccurate information that’s spread deliberately, likely by malicious actors with the intent of undermini ..
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