Artificially intelligent fake accounts attack politicians and public figures on social media. Conspiracy theorists publish junk news sites to promote their outlandish beliefs. Campaigners create fake dating profiles to attract young voters. We live in a world of technologies that misdirect our attention, poison our political conversations, and jeopardize our democracies. Big data from the social media firms, combined with interviews with internet trolls, bot writers and political operatives, demonstrates how misinformation gets produced, distributed and marketed. Ultimately, understanding how all the components work together is vital to dismantling such “lie machines” and strengthening democracy.

Dr. Philip Howard’s new book, Lie Machines: How to Save Democracy From Troll Armies, Deceitful Robots, Junk News Operations, and Political Operatives, offers behind-the-scenes stories from the world’s biggest and most damagingly successful misinformation initiatives. Howard not only shows how these campaigns evolved from older propaganda operations but also exposes their new powers, gives us insight into their effectiveness, and explains how to shut them down.

Register Here

Join the CIC Toronto virtually on June 30 at 12:00 EST for a discussion between Philip Howard, Director of Oxford University’s Oxford Internet Institute, and Gabrielle Lim, a researcher at Harvard University’s Shorenstein Center and fellow at the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab.

Three (3) copies of Dr. Howard’s book in its audiobook format will be raffled off to CIC members in the audience, and all members will be granted a discount code should they wish to order the book online.

DATE AND TIME:
Tuesday, June 30, 2020
12:00 to 13:00 pm EST

ADVANCED REGISTRATION:

This event is open to CIC members only. While there is no cost to participate, advanced registration is required.

Questions can be sent in advance to josh.gold@mail.utoronto.ca to be posed during the Q&A segment of the discussion.