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How Disinformation Spreads: Social Media’s Impact on Italy’s Elections

  • When
  • May 17, 2018
    10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. (EDT)
  • Where
  • Open Society European Policy Institute
    Square de Meeûs 5-6
    Brussels, 1000
    Belgium
  • Speakers
  • Iskra Kirova, Naja Bentzen, David Alejandro Puente Anzil, and Alexandre Alaphilippe
  • In partnership with
  • EU Disinfo Lab

Italy’s parliamentary elections on March 4 demonstrated unprecedented support for political forces that have risen on anti-establishment and Eurosceptic arguments, in a campaign that was largely conducted online. What was the role of social media in shaping public opinion and votes in the run-up to the elections?

In this event, Alexandre Alaphilippe from EU DisinfoLab and fact-checker David Puente will discuss how civil society cooperation helped monitor and counter online disinformation during the elections. The discussion will be enriched by the contribution of Naja Bentzen with the European Parliamentary Research Service, who will address the issue of the increasing influence of disinformation campaigns in Europe—and its implications for the upcoming European Parliament elections.

Speakers

  • Iskra Kirova

    Moderator

    Until March 2023, Iskra Kirova was a senior policy analyst for the Open Society Europe and Eurasia Program.

  • Naja Bentzen

    Speaker

    Naja Bentzen is a policy analyst at the European Parliamentary Research Service.

  • David Alejandro Puente Anzil

    Speaker

    David Alejandro Puente Anzil is a computer programmer and fake news debunker.

  • Alexandre Alaphilippe

    Speaker

    Alexandre Alaphilippe is vice president of partnerships and operations at EU DisinfoLab.

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