Background:
A new research program was recently established at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) – the Amnon Lipkin-Shahak Program on National Security and Democracy in an Era of Post-Truth and Fake News.
As part of the program, we are mapping all of the relevant technology entities and individuals in the field in Israel and worldwide – startups, platforms for distributing content, organizations setting up defense systems against fake news, publishers dealing with fake news, and experts in the field.
If you are part of this ecosystem, we would like to get to know you and in the future be in touch in order to understand your needs and see how we can work to advance the field.
What is post-truth and fake news, anyway?
The concepts “post-truth” and “fake news” gained prominence in late 2016, after the referendum on the UK’s departure from the European Union (“Brexit”) and Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential elections. These events led the Oxford Dictionary to choose the concept “post-truth” as the word of the year in 2016, which many thought captured the spirit of the times. This concept refers to a political culture in which facts have less of an influence over the public discourse than emotions, beliefs, and opinions. The concept “fake news” refers to the possibilities that exist today for easily distributing lies, distortions, mistakes, spins, and conspiracy theories on a very wide scale (intentionally or accidentally).
What are we looking for?
Startups, tech companies, ventures, organizations, publishers, and new media outlets, experts, and others that develop or use technologies that are connected to the field of fake news and post-truth in any way – technologies that are used to identify lies and liars and to clarify the reality.
Examples of relevant organizations:
Ventures and initiatives that are involved in fact-checking, preventing the distribution of lies, identifying lies/distortions/spins and conspiracies in the public sphere, identifying and analyzing the level of exposure to lies and bots and their impact on the public consciousness, and recognizing fictitious entities and identities (bots).
We would like to learn about companies and enterprises in this field in a range of areas – social media, medicine, communication, security, governance, education, and others - as well as companies related to cyber security, fraud prevention, new media, and research/analytics that may be relevant.
What is our goal?
Our goal is to map out the ecosystem of startups and players active in the fields of post-truth and fake news and become a source of knowledge in the field.
As an organization that coordinates the research activity in the field and is in ongoing contact with relevant institutes in Israel and abroad, we will work to understand the needs of the players in the field and try to create solutions where possible; share relevant tools and knowledge with them; hold round-table discussions of players in the field; invite them to events on the topic; and work to connect and provide exposure to new technologies in the field to potential customers in the private and public sectors who are interested in the support of such bodies for their efforts (after the sides have given their approval for this). We are also planning an international conference in November 2019 and an expert workshop with the participation of researchers, government officials, tech experts, and more.
What will we do with your information?
In the first stage we are mapping out activity in the field. We may use the information that you share with us for publications on the topic (therefore, please do not share sensitive information. If there is information that cannot be shared, please clearly note this in the questionnaire).
Later, we may contact you in order to receive additional details. We will send you additional information if you agree to this, or we will invite you to events that we hold on the topic.
Want to learn more?
You are welcome to read more on the program's page on the website, read the summary of our recent conference, which included a panel on the topic of Technology Against Fake News [in Hebrew], and read the Institute's articles on the subject. If you want to receive additional updates, please sign up for the INSS mailing list and we will update you on our future activities.
Thank you for your cooperation,
The Lipkin-Shahak Program, the Institute for National Security Studies