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The traditional media outlets in Russia have a long history of publishing pro-Kremlin propaganda. However, experts have found numerous instances of disinformation spread by Putin’s government on social media. Innovative solutions are needed to address the expansion of information manipulation. Only a concerted, global effort from the democratic world can combat disinformation of this magnitude and with human lives on the line.
What have been the platforms’ responses and how can they be made more transparent and motivated to join this effort? The EU and the UK have so far pioneered initiatives in the area of disinformation, yet the war in Ukraine brings to the fore challenges that can best be addressed by like-minded actors together.
Join us for a two-part, in-person event hosted in cooperation with the EU Delegation to the UK about how to tackle Russian-led disinformation in this dire hour. Session 1 will address government responses to Kremlin information manipulation efforts. Session 2 will explore how platforms and other non-governmental stakeholders can address Kremlin-led disinformation on social media.
Moderated by:
Jessica Cecil – Jessica is the founder of the Trusted News Initiative (TNI), the world’s only alliance of major international technology companies and news organisations, including Meta, Google, Twitter and Microsoft, to counter the most harmful disinformation in real time. Jessica’s media industry leadership experience was honed over a 30 year career at the BBC, with a background as a news journalist and documentary maker. She is also a Trustee of the University of Bristol and sits on the Council of Advisors for RAND Europe and is an Adjunct Fellow of the Queen Elizabeth II Academy for Leadership in International Affairs at Chatham House.
Session 1 Speakers:
Lutz Güllner – Lutz is Head of Division for Strategic Communications and information analysis in the European External Action Service (EEAS). He leads a team dealing with issues related to disinformation and foreign manipulative interference. His work focuses on addressing disinformation threats for the EU and its neighbourhood region. In 2009 and 2010, Lutz was spokesperson for the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Baroness Catherine Ashton. He was also the Commission’s spokesperson for trade policy. In previous positions, he oversaw economic relations between the EU and Russia.
Nataliya Popovych – Nataliya has been at the forefront of Ukraine’s efforts to counter the Russian hybrid warfare since 2014. She is the Founder & President of One Philosophy, a communications and management consultancy, and Resilient Ukraine, home to WeAreUkraine.info, a repository of truth about Russia-Ukrainian war. She is a co-founder of Ukraine Crisis Media Center (UCMC), an anti-populism and media literacy platform and one of the leading NGOs in Ukraine countering Russia’s disinformation. Most recently, Natalia has become a co-chair of the Ukraine Communications Support Network, an international taskforce organised by PRCA and ICCO to coordinate the pro bono efforts of global public relations players in support of Ukraine and co-founded Ukraine House in Denmark, a cultural diplomacy civil society organization.
Andy Pryce – Andy is a career diplomat and Head of Counter Disinformation at the FCDO. He set up and ran the UK’s Counter Disinformation and Media Development Programme for four years. He has enjoyed seven postings overseas including working as the Head of Public Diplomacy at the British Embassy in Washington and at the U.K. Mission Brussels.
Session 2 Speakers:
Carl Miller – Carl is the founder of the Centre for the Analysis of Social Media (2011) and CASM Technology (2014). He has spent the last decade researching social media intelligence, online electoral interference, radicalisation, cyber-crime, and Internet governance. His debut book, The Death of the Gods: The New Global Power Grab was about hidden forms of power in the digital age. He’s a Visiting Research Fellow at King’s College London, an Associate of the Imperial War Museum, a member of the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime and a member of the Challenging Pseudoscience group at the Royal Institution.
Krisztina Stump – Krisztina is the Head of Media Convergence and Social Media Unit, in DG CNECT of the European Commission. Her Unit is in charge of the Commission’s policy on combatting disinformation online, as well as social media policy and research and innovation funding to address the challenges brought by media convergence. The unit drafted the Commission Guidance on how to strengthen the Code of Practice on Disinformation and accompanied the drafting of the new Code presented in June 2022. Krisztina has held various positions within the European Commission in the policy fields of telecommunications, audiovisual media, media freedom & pluralism and copyright. Krisztina holds Master of Laws degrees with a focus on Media Law from Columbia Law School (New York) and from Humboldt University (Berlin).