WHAT WE ARE DOING AGAINST DISINFORMATION IN 2024
It’s an election year and misinformation is making news again.
The year started with influencer campaigns focused on both Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primaries – including robocalls featuring AI-generated “deepfake audio” simulating President Biden’s voice. The goals were familiar: defame an opponent for political purposes, undermine confidence in our electoral system, and suppress voter participation. Disinformation campaigns like these are nothing new, but new tools have made it easier than ever to produce and distribute misleading content.
Unfortunately, these growing threats to our democracy come at a time when social media platforms have have scaled back their content moderation programsand aggressive legal and legislative pressure from politicians has put a brake on research and coordination in the fight against disinformation.
This moment calls for innovative approaches to combating fake news, and PEN America is ready to support journalists, policy makers, and communities across the country. We’re excited to share our plans for the Misinformation and Community Engagement Program and invite you to get involved.
