Governance of Disinformation in Digitalized Public Spheres
Researchers Involved
Prof. Dr. Mark Eisenegger
Dr. Franziska Oehmer
research areas
timeframe
2021 - 2022
contact
florent.thouvenin@rwi.uzh.ch
Governance of Disinformation in Digitalized Public Spheres
Communication channels and tech-platforms such as Twitter, YouTube, WhatsApp or Telegram enable the rapid and almost unlimited spread of mis- and disinformation and thus also increase the need for (further) regulation. The joint research project of the Center for Information Technology, Society, and Law (ITSL) and the Research Center Public Sphere and Society (fög) at the University of Zurich identifies and suggests governance options for dealing with mis- and disinformation.
Although the analysis and especially the development of governance options would suggest an interdisciplinary approach, there are hardly any interdisciplinary scientific initiatives to date regarding the governance of mis- and disinformation. In our project, we close this gap and use empirical findings from communication science to identify relevant areas that need (further) regulation and discuss the role of media and data literacy. From the perspective of the law, we identify existing regulatory and enforcement gaps for addressing these problems. Both communication science and legal findings form the basis for the formulation of governance options for mis- and disinformation that consider governmental, organizational and individual measures.
Background
The interdisciplinary project provides answers to the increasingly urgent questions on the governance of mis- and disinformation.
Research Questions
Our project is guided by the following research questions:
- What problem areas related to mis- and disinformation can be identified in social science research?
- What is the current legal framework for dealing with disinformation in Switzerland? What regulatory gaps can be identified?
- What are the governance options for dealing with mis- and disinformation (including forms of self- and co-regulation)?
Project Aim
The goal of our research project is the formulation of governance options for mis- and disinformation, which consider governmental, organizational and individual measures.