About the Webinar

The event will be organized online by the Aspen Institute Romania, in partnership with the Eurocomunicare Association, under the aegis of the Aspen Dialogues series of webinars.

Europe and America have long faced the threat of disinformation and had to face its impact in their societies. Trust and social capital have long been declining. But, fake news and disinformation have accentuated these dangerous trends, thus enhancing our collective vulnerabilities. Social media channels and new technologies have lowered geographical divides, and yet they also contributed to social polarisation in local communities. Disinformation can easily and cheaply be used to persuade the public at an accelerated and dangerous pace as digital platforms might be used for sharing of false information. The COVID-19 pandemics made things more stringent than ever before, as national vaccination campaigns have been countered by state-sponsored disinformation campaigns. Feelings of fear or sadness in the population are explored maliciously to seed scepticism and animosity within the public and between citizens and their elected officials. Societal resilience is thus put to the test harder than ever before. This webinar aims to discuss these interdependencies between current and older threats and the best ways to diagnose them and effectively counter them in our societies today.

The webinar format will be a moderated discussion between panellists, followed by a Q&A session based on questions received from participants (representatives of academia and the private sector, public officials, civil society leaders focused on fostering research).

Confirmed speakers:
• Ryan Merkley, Managing Director, Aspen Digital, The Aspen Institute US
• Clara Volintiru, Director, Aspen New Economy and Society Program
• Flavia Durach, Senior Expert in Disinformation Analysis, Researcher, Eurocomunicare

Moderator: Loredana Vladu, Senior Expert in Strategic Communication, Eurocomunicare

Save your virtual seat by registering HERE.