Advisory For: Monday, October 26, 2020
Contact: Christina DiPasquale, [email protected], 202.716.1953
Next week: Black and Brown-led Disinformation Disruption Events to Combat Racialized Disinfo Ahead of Election Day
MediaJustice and the Disinfo Defense League will center tactics to combat sophisticated disinformation campaigns, throughout the week ahead of the presidential election, to push back against efforts to silence and suppress the power of voters of color
Monday, October 26 through Friday, October 30, MediaJustice and the Disinfo Defense League will host the Week of Action Against Disinformation, a week of virtual events gathering dozens of civil rights and racial justice organizations to combat disinformation targeting communities of color. As we approach Election Day on November 3rd, this week of action will be used to organize and push back against bad actors using sophisticated disinformation campaigns to silence and suppress the power of voters of color.
Join next week’s virtual events to learn about how communities of color are preparing to take action to combat disinformation directed against them, ahead of the presidential elections, to protect political expression, voting access, and democracy.
Featured events during the week of action include:
Movement Leader Roundtable: Racialized Discrimination in the Digital Age
WHEN: Wednesday, October 28, 2 p.m. EST
WHO: Terry Ao Minnis, senior director of census and voting programs at Asian Americans Advancing Justice; Shireen Mitchell, founder of Stop Online Violence Against Women Inc.; Bridget Todd, communications director at UltraViolet and host of There Are No Girls On The Internet; and Meghna Mahadevan, chief disinformation strategist at United We Dream
Streaming on: https://www.facebook.com/MediaJustice
Presentation: How to Research Media Manipulation?
WHEN: Thursday, October 29, 11 a.m. EST
WHO: The Shorenstein Center’s Technology and Social Change Team featuring Brian Friedberg, Gabby Lim, Emily Dreyfuss, and Brandi Collins-Dexter
Streaming on: https://medium.com/bigiftrue
Talk: Need Structural Changes in Media with a Racial Justice Lens
WHEN: Friday, October 30, 11 a.m. EST
WHO: Dr. Joan Donovan, disinformation expert, in conversation with Steven Renderos, executive director of MediaJustice
Streaming on: https://medium.com/bigiftrue
Reddit Ask Me Anything (AMA): How to Take Action with Disinformation Experts
WHEN: Friday, October 30, 11 a.m. ET
WHO: Experts at Fight For The Future, Access Now, Mozilla, PEN America, Wikimedia, GQR, and Common Cause
Join: https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA
Said Erin Shields, National Field Organizer at MediaJustice:
“Due to the heightened political activity of Black and brown people, our communities are targeted with wedge issue disinformation campaigns, intending to undermine intra- and inter- community solidarity and generally erode trust in information in its totality. We are engaging in a #DisruptDisinfo week of action against disinformation to uplift the role racialized disinformation plays in the 2020 elections, in our access to accurate medical information in the midst of a global pandemic, and its impact on our social movements.”
For interviews and questions: Christina DiPasquale, [email protected], 202.716.1953
Advocates participating in and contributing to the week of action include: United We Dream, Women’s March, Common Cause, Dr. Joan Donovan (Shorenstien Center), Wikimedia Foundation, data.org, Data & Society, Asian American Organizing Project (AAOP), Mozilla, Fight For The Future, The Greenlining Institute, Generation Justice, Voices for Racial Justice, Indivisible Northern Nevada, Equis Labs, CivicLex, Access Now, Southern Coalition for Social Justice, Kairos, United Church of Christ, OC Inc, PEN America, Indivisible Plus Washington, UltraViolet, Asian Americans Advancing Justice, and Stop Online Violence Against Women Inc.
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MediaJustice is dedicated to building a grassroots movement for a more just and participatory media—fighting for racial, economic, and gender justice in a digital age. MediaJustice boldly advances communication rights, access, and power for communities harmed by persistent dehumanization, discrimination and disadvantage. Home of the #MediaJusticeNetwork, comprised of more than 100 grassroots partners, we envision a future where everyone is connected, represented, and free.
