Abstract

The use of computational propaganda to shape public attitudes has become one of the most pressing challenges for democracy. Over the past few years, there have been several attempts by foreign operatives, political parties, and populist movements to manipulate the outcome of elections by spreading disinformation, amplifying divisive rhetoric, and micro-targeting polarizing messages to voters.

By co-opting the advertising infrastructure, algorithms, and the user agreements that support social media platforms, computational propaganda has been leveraged to sow discord, dissent, and division among citizens in democracies around the world. This talk will examine the global phenomenon of social media manipulation, as well as the legal and private self-regulatory responses currently being developed to address these challenges.