Village Square Event: "Invisible Rulers" with Renée DiResta

Event Topic:
"Invisible Rulers: Disinformation, Spam, Scams, Trolls, Online Manipulation, and What We Can Do About It" with Renée DiResta

Registering for the Online Event:
This is a FREE event; however, you will need to register for it. Go to the following Eventbrite link & fill out the registration form:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/renee-diresta-invisible-rulers-tickets-1228448565729

Check your email for the confirmation message with the Zoom link - if you don't see it, check your "Junk" folder.

About this Event:
We’re making our way through a time of extreme disruption, led by rapid transformation in technology, especially in how we communicate information. According to our special guest Renée DiResta, the way power and influence have been profoundly transformed reveals how a virtual rumor mill of niche propagandists increasingly shapes public opinion.

By revealing the machinery and dynamics of the interplay between influencers, algorithms, and online crowds, DiResta vividly illustrates the way propagandists deliberately undermine belief in the fundamental legitimacy of institutions that make society work.

With its deep insight into the power of propagandists to drive online crowds into battle—while bearing no responsibility for the consequences—Invisible Rulers not only predicts those consequences but offers ways for leaders to rapidly adapt and fight back. We’re making our way through a time of extreme disruption, led by rapid transformation in technology, especially in how we communicate information.

Learn more about the program online here. This program is part of the UNUM: Democracy Reignited series in partnership with Florida Humanities, which explores the past, present and future of the American idea — as it exists on paper, in the hearts of our people, and as it manifests in our lives. Find the full series online here.

More about our speaker:
- Renée DiResta is an Associate Research Professor at Georgetown University's McCourt School of Public Policy, co-founder of Vaccinate California, and former research manager at Stanford Internet Observatory.

About the Event Host:
The Village Square is a non-profit, non-partisan public educational forum founded in 2006 by Liz Joyner, Allan Katz, and Bill Law in Tallahassee, Florida. They lamented the lack of a shared civic space where people could air their differences of opinion, so they created one. They now spearhead a variety of programming centered around civility and community-building, especially among political opponents. The group is dedicated to maintaining factual accuracy in civic and political debate by growing civil discourse on divisive issues, and recalling the history and principles at the foundation of our democracy.

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