Digital Dilemmas Dialogue #3: How the spread of harmful information changes armed conflicts

How are online information flows impacting the way armed conflicts unfold? What impact does social media discourse have on people in crises? And what does it mean that misinformation, disinformation and hate speech are "like war"?

To launch the third DigitHarium month, we have invited Peter Singer, Strategist and Senior Fellow at New America and author of several books on how social media has changed war and politics, to discuss the impact of misinformation, disinformation and hate speech on humanitarian settings. We will discuss the risks and opportunities that the current digitalization wave offers for people living in situations of conflict and violence, and will focus in particular on the way that the spread of information online is impacting not only the way humanitarian organizations work, but the very settings they are called to work in.

The discussion will be the first event of the March thematic path - Misinformation, Disinformation and Hate Speech.

The series

The Digital Dilemmas Dialogues are a series of one-on-one discussions about the humanitarian digital transformation, its implications and the work ahead. This 30-odd minutes chat brings together prominent experts and stakeholders from various sectors to explore the humanitarian consequences of a new type or trend in digital technologies each month, and offer reflections on what is coming next.

The Digital Dilemmas Dialogues are a component of the DigitHarium, which is part of the Humanitarian Data and Trust Initiative (HDTI).

Additional Resources

You can't handle the truth: misinformation and humanitarian action, by Rachel Xu (8 min read)

Digital risks for populations in armed conflict: Five key gaps the humanitarian sector should address, by Delphine van Solinge (8 min read)

Symposium Report: Digital Risks In Armed Conflicts (ICRC)

[EVENT] Digital Technologies and Humanitarian Action in Armed Conflict (18 March 2021 13:30 - 15:00 CET)