Disinformation and Democracy: Civic Discourse in the Digital Age

More than 150 years ago, Alexis de Tocqueville noted that it is easier for the public to accept a simple lie rather than a complex truth. With the advent of digital and social media and today's diverse, highly polarized society, it feels as though this adage is being used to quickly dismantle American democracy.\r\n\r\nIn her book, \"How to Lose the Information War: Russia, Fake News, and the Future of Conflict\", Nina Jankowicz takes us on a journey through five Western governments\' responses to Russian information warfare tactics - all of which have failed. While America has finally begun to wake up to the threat of online warfare, Ms. Jankowicz, a Global Fellow at The Wilson Center, has spent years in Central and Eastern Europe advising governments on the front lines of the information war.\r\n\r\nJoin us, in-person at the City Club for our 2021 Annual Meeting, where Nina Jankowicz will discuss what is at stake in this moment: the future of civil discourse and democracy, and the value of truth itself.