Gain insights from civil society leaders fighting the rise of misinformation and disinformation.

While these threats to democracy aren’t new, our digital age has rapidly accelerated their prevalence with social media enabling false information to spread quickly.

A healthy democracy needs an informed public, and disinformation puts this essential foundation at risk. It threatens every pathway to a fairer and more sustainable Australia, which is why it’s a focus area for the Impact Fund in 2024.

Join us at this interactive session to: 

• Explore the difference between misinformation and disinformation and how they threaten Australian democracy, particularly in the context of the next federal election
• Learn about the work of organisations leading solutions through research, advocacy, law reform and public education initiatives
• Better understand the significant role we can all play, both as donors and citizens, in actively combatting disinformation.

We’ll be joined by Harriet McCallum (Executive Officer, Mannifera), Saffron Zomer (Executive Director, Australian Democracy Network), Alice Drury (Acting Legal Director, Human Rights Law Centre) and Lizzie O’Shea (Chair, Digital Rights Watch).

Wednesday 24 July
12pm – 1:30pm AEST
Online via Zoom – Access link to be provided on the day of the event

Harriet McCallum, Executive Officer, Mannifera

Harriet McCallum has served as Executive Officer of Mannifera since 2020. Mannifera is a collective of funders who invest in civil society and First Nations-led organisations, while fostering collective action and shared learning. Mannifera launched its Combating Dis/misinformation Grant Round earlier this year to advance collective action against the mounting impacts of dis/misinformation.

Saffron Zomer, Executive Director, Australian Democracy Network

Saffron Zomer is a lawyer, campaigner, and political strategist who now serves as Executive Director at the Australian Democracy Network, leading the organisation’s efforts to campaign for a fairer democracy. This includes research to identify drivers of disinformation and provide civil society with the necessary tools to counteract it.

Alice Drury, Acting Legal Director, Human Rights Law Centre

Alice Drury, who has been at the Human Rights Law Centre since 2018, now serves as its Acting Legal Director. Her work focuses on systemic and emerging threats to Australian democracy, including law reform to hold digital platforms accountable for the disinformation and hate speech they amplify.

Lizzie O’Shea, Chair, Digital Rights Watch

Lizzie O’Shea serves as Chair at Digital Rights Watch and is a principal lawyer. In her legal practice, she sues technology companies that have done the wrong thing, and through Digital Rights Watch, she advocates for stronger laws to protect human rights in online spaces. Her current work is dedicated to policy reform and the development of practical tools for public engagement to combat the effects of disinformation.

Register

This session is open to Australian Communities Foundation fundholders and clients. Contact us to register.