Proposal

APrIGF 2022 Session Proposal Submission Form
Part 1 - Lead Organizer
Contact Person
Ms. Toni Friedman
Email
Organization / Affiliation (Please state "Individual" if appropriate) *
The Asia Foundation
Designation
Program Manager
Gender
Female
Economy of Residence
United States
Primary Stakeholder Group
Civil Society
Part 2 - Session Proposal
Session Title
Connecting the online and offline: a whole-of-society approach to misinformation
Session Format
Fireside Chat
Where do you plan to organize your session?
Online only (with onsite facilitator who will help with questions or comments from the floor)
Specific Issues for Discussion
Misinformation, disinformation, and mal-information continue to be a challenge for policy makers across Asia, and a hindrance for inclusive growth and a safe internet for all. While online platforms have enabled the ability of unqualified information to spread virally across the globe, an often overlooked yet hugely consequential element of this issue is how online speech affects local information environments -- from radio to word-of-mouth. Oftentimes governments and civil society organizations addressing misinformation must contend both with identifying it online, and also understanding how it affects communities offline. This is especially true in contexts where internet adoption is relatively recent. This session brings in practitioners from government and civil society working on the front lines of misinformation to address the following questions: 1) how does online misinformation spread into conversations offline, even in communities where there is no internet access, 2) how can governments and civil society organizations work together to address misinformation, and 3) what local contexts are governments and civil society uniquely positioned to understand, and how can that knowledge better inform online platform policies.
Describe the Relevance of Your Session to APrIGF
This session addresses issues related to tempering offline harms of misinformation in local communities as well as the challenges of civil servants in implementing critical policy issues in a hostile information environment. This takes a more expansive and people-first understanding of the effects of the internet on the community at large, and considers its impacts on the local information environment, including remote and rural communities. The speakers would bring real-world experience with fielding incoming leads about harmful information online from a government perspective, as well as communications and counter-messaging experience from a civil society perspective. By the end of the session, participants will have a better understanding of how misinformation plays out on-the-ground level, and will set the stage for further productive conversation on how civil society, governments, and online platforms can work together to create a more productive and trusted online ecosystem.
Methodology / Agenda (Please add rows by clicking "+" on the right)
Time frame (e.g. 5 minutes, 20 minutes, should add up to 60 minutes) Description
5-10 minutes Introduction and scene setting by facilitator/moderator
15-20 minutes sectioned as 5 min per speaker + facilitator Case study examples
5-10 minutes Interaction with audience questions or comments facilitator follow up
15-20 minutes sectioned as 5 min per speaker + facilitator Take-away lessons from on-the-ground experience
5-10 Interaction with audience + facilitator summation / next steps
Moderators & Speakers Info (Please complete where possible)

  • Moderator (Primary)

    • Name: Toni Friedman
    • Organization: The Asia Foundation
    • Designation: Program Manager -- Information Security
    • Gender: Female
    • Economy / Country of Residence: USA
    • Stakeholder Group: Civil Society
    • Expected Presence: Online
    • Status of Confirmation: Confirmed

  • Moderator (Back-up)

    • Name: John Karr
    • Organization: The Asia Foundation
    • Designation: Senior Director -- Technology Programs
    • Gender: Male
    • Economy / Country of Residence: USA
    • Stakeholder Group: Civil Society
    • Expected Presence: Online
    • Status of Confirmation: Confirmed

  • Speaker 1

    • Name: Tajeshwari Devi
    • Organization: Online Safety Commission
    • Designation: Executive
    • Gender: Female
    • Economy / Country of Residence: Fiji
    • Stakeholder Group: Government
    • Expected Presence: Online
    • Status of Confirmation: Proposed

  • Speaker 2

    • Name: Katalaini Vatulatei
    • Organization: Online Safety Commission
    • Designation: Coordinator
    • Gender: Female
    • Economy / Country of Residence: Fiji
    • Stakeholder Group: Government
    • Expected Presence: Online
    • Status of Confirmation: Proposed

  • Speaker 3

    • Name: Abbas Hussain
    • Organization: The Asia Foundation
    • Designation: Sr Program Officer
    • Gender: Male
    • Economy / Country of Residence: Pakistan
    • Stakeholder Group: Civil Society
    • Expected Presence: Online
    • Status of Confirmation: Proposed

  • Speaker 4

    • Stakeholder Group: Academia
    • Expected Presence: In-person
    • Status of Confirmation: Proposed
Please explain the rationale for choosing each of the above contributors to the session.
The speakers bring experience responding to misinformation at the community level. The Online Safety Commission recently produced and distributed a manual to increase citizen resiliency online, informed by years of experience fielding incoming complaints and questions about safety online. Abbas Hussain served as communications coordinator for the South Asia Regional Project to Strengthen Community Resilience to Covid-19, which included a community-focused fact checking effort. The moderator(s) will direct the conversation according to broad findings from a series of conversations held with officials for the Asia Foundation Information Disorder Assessment Capacity Assessment project (although due to the confidential nature of the research, will not go into specifics).
Please declare if you have any potential conflict of interest with the Program Committee 2022.
No
Are you or other session contributors planning to apply for the APrIGF Fellowship Program 2022?
No
Number of Attendees (Please fill in numbers)
    Consent
    I agree that my data can be submitted to forms.for.asia and processed by APrIGF organizers for the program selection of APrIGF 2022.