The COVID-19 pandemic has created fertile ground for the spread of disinformation, misinformation and hoaxes in many CEE countries. Entities promoting conspiracy theories got an unprecedented opportunity for approaching new audiences. And adversaries of Western democracies utilized this opportunity to further exacerbate existing social rifts.
How did COVID-19-related disinformation influence the situation in the Czech Republic and CEE more broadly?
How should researchers and experts analyse this threat?
What can be done about it?
These are some of the questions that are going to be answered during the online event ‘How did the COVID-19 pandemic turn ordinary citizens into disinformation spreaders?’ on March 23rd at 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM EET.
During this event, you will also have the opportunity to enjoy a presentation of a new survey and round-table discussion about the situation and solutions for CEE.
Speakers
- Nikola Hořejš, International Affairs Program Manager at STEM – Society and Democracy Research Center, will present a new survey of Czech conspiracy spreaders, their underlying psychological motives, and its implications for practice.
- Jonáš Syrovátka, Program Manager of think-tank Prague Security Studies Institute, has analyzed COVID-19 related disinformation in Czech information space.
Their introductory remarks will be commented on by distinguished researchers and experts involved in tackling disinformation:
- Joanna Rohozińska, Beacon Project IRI
- Dominika Hajdu, Research Fellow, Democracy & Resilience Program, GLOBSEC
Register here.