Aspen Digital's Disinfo Discussions Diara J. Townes

Two experts in the field of cognitive science bring an understanding to how the brain responds to false information online. Dr. Danielle Polage is a cognitive psychologist and professor at Central Washington University. She’s studied the impacts of false information in digital environments, and the effects exposure to repeated lying can have on an individual’s belief patterns. Dr. Babak Hemmatian has a Ph.D. in cognitive science and a Masters in computer science from Brown University. He studies how social narratives form and are negotiated using computational methods and behavioral experiments. His research dives into how people communicate and find consensus online.

This session is part of an audio/video series of expert briefings on mis and disinformation hosted by the Aspen Institute in tandem with our Commission on Information Disorder to help make sense of the various facets of the information crisis called Disinfo Discussions. They are designed as a resource for the commissioners and the broader public.

To learn more about Aspen Digital’s Commission on Information Disorder, visit www.AspenInfoCommission.org. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook @AspenDigital.

John Poulos is the President and CEO of Dominion Voting, a leading industry supplier of election technology across the United States. Dominion is one of several suppliers of election technology in the United States who became a target of rampant disinformation after the 2020 election. Poulos joined Commission Co-chair and former Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Chris Krebs to discuss the effects the "Big Lie" had on his company and the active role business executives must play in preventing disinformation from spreading across their own organizations. 

This session is part of a video series of expert briefings on mis and disinformation hosted by the Aspen Institute in tandem with our Commission on Information Disorder to help make sense of the various facets of the information crisis called Disinfo Discussions. They are designed as a resource for the commissioners and the broader public.

To learn more about Aspen Digital’s Commission on Information Disorder, visit www.AspenInfoCommission.org. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook @AspenDigital.

Jay Rosen is a long time professor of journalism at New York University. He is the author of the PressThink blog, and one of the great thinkers on the changing nature of journalism in the digital age. His work has appeared in The New York Times, LA Times, Salon, Harper's Magazine, and The Nation. He spoke on the challenges and opportunities around disinformation and the news industry with Aspen Digital's Executive Director Vivian Schiller.

This session is part of a video series of expert briefings on mis and disinformation hosted by the Aspen Institute in tandem with our Commission on Information Disorder to help make sense of the various facets of the information crisis called Disinfo Discussions. They are designed as a resource for the commissioners and the broader public.

To learn more about Aspen Digital’s Commission on Information Disorder, visit www.AspenInfoCommission.org. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook @AspenDigital.

Alan Miller is the CEO and founder of the News Literacy Project. He examines the role of news literacy and education as an effective countermeasure to the spread of mis and disinformation, with Vivian Schiller.

This session is part of a video series of expert briefings on mis and disinformation hosted by the Aspen Institute in tandem with our Commission on Information Disorder to help make sense of the various facets of the information crisis called Disinfo Discussions. They are designed as a resource for the commissioners and the broader public.

To learn more about Aspen Digital’s Commission on Information Disorder, visit www.AspenInfoCommission.org. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook @AspenDigital. 

Amy Webb is an American futurist and founder and CEO of the Future Today Institute. Amy’s work intersects with the risks and threats posed by new and future disinformation threats. She spoke with Aspen Digital's Executive Director Vivian Schiller on what we should be anticipating and what effective measures society can take today.

This session is part of a video series of expert briefings on mis and disinformation hosted by the Aspen Institute in tandem with our Commission on Information Disorder to help make sense of the various facets of the information crisis called Disinfo Discussions. They are designed as a resource for the commissioners and the broader public.

To learn more about Aspen Digital’s Commission on Information Disorder, visit www.AspenInfoCommission.org. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook @AspenDigital.

Brandi Collins-Dexter is a visiting fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Shorenstein Center on media, politics and public policy, and a senior fellow at Color Of Change. She’s currently writing a book about the history and trajectory of Black political, economic and social power as it relates to the loss of offline Black-owned and controlled spaces.

This session is part of a video series of expert briefings on mis and disinformation hosted by the Aspen Institute in tandem with our Commission on Information Disorder to help make sense of the various facets of the information crisis called Disinfo Discussions. They are designed as a resource for the commissioners and the broader public.

To learn more about Aspen Digital’s Commission on Information Disorder, visit www.AspenInfoCommission.org. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook @AspenDigital