Strengthening democracy in the digital age: Knight's $50 million investment in a new field of researchOn July 22, 2019, Knight made a $50 million investment to develop a new field of research around technology’s impact on democracy. Sam Gill, vice president of communities and impact at Knight, shares details below.Solutions are needed, but they must be driven and supported by new ideas, new evidence and new knowledge. This is why Knight is announcing nearly $50 million to help support an emerging field of research around how society is informed in the digital age. This investment is intended to support the development of knowledge about how digital technology has transformed the conditions of an informed society, and to provide recommendations for improving our ability to produce, distribute and consume reliable, trustworthy information. It includes two distinct approaches [documented as goals in this StratML rendition].Knight FoundationKF_a1198cd6-ebbf-11df-ae5d-52537a64ea2aSam GillVice President, Communities & ImpactLocal NewpapersWhen Jack and Jim Knight left behind the corpus of what would grow into the modern Knight Foundation, they had built part of the wellspring of an informed democracy -- a network of local newspapers that connected people to what was happening where they lived, across the country and around the world. The attributes of that institution -- the hometown paper -- have been obliterated by digital technology.Elected OfficialsOutrage married with ignorance cannot bolster our democracy. Elected officials and executives are rushing into the breach without the sound knowledge needed to inform their proposals. The questions are new, and therefore our old doctrines are not up to the task.Executives_64e8d9f2-acf8-11e9-843e-79e109b03814To develop a new field of research around technology's impact on democracy. _64e8dcfe-acf8-11e9-843e-79e109b03814InformationWe now expect information to be available where we want it and when we want it. And, in addition to seeking information out, we passively receive a continuous stream of news, sentiments, events and entertainment.TechnologyThere's no question that technology has, in many ways, made life more convenient. It’s easier to find information than at any time in history. We can access basic services, connect to friends and family, and make our voices heard with the swipe of a finger.DemocracyYet, left unchecked and unquestioned, the digital technology revolution could threaten the future of our democracy.VeracityImportant questions are being discussed on Capitol Hill and in coffee shops: How do people access information online and assess its veracity? Are we trapped in a series of online "echo chambers," losing our capacity to communicate across differences? What is the prevalence and influence of misinformation? How do digital marketplaces operate, where services are free at the cost of personal data? Do the algorithms that govern social media drive us toward more ever sensational content to maximize engagement?KnowledgeThe absence of good ideas, backed by sound knowledge, is palpable. The major social media companies have offered potential reforms in fits and starts, sometimes changing course from one day to the next. CentersCreate and accelerate centers of study._64e8ddb2-acf8-11e9-843e-79e109b038141The first is the creation and acceleration of significant centers of study, each anchored by leading minds already at the forefront of these issues. They will bring together a range of academic disciplines such as political science, computer science, sociology, engineering and the law. While each of these centers has a distinct focus, they all explore how the internet and digital communication change the way we are informed:Disinformation_64e8df74-acf8-11e9-843e-79e109b038141.1Center for Informed Democracy and Social Cyber-Security (IDeaS)Carnegie Mellon University($5 million): To expand the study of information manipulation through online platforms; develop approaches to counter disinformation; and build and educate a community of scholars, practitioners and policymakers to foster an informed democratic society.Information ManipulationExpand the study of information manipulation through online platforms_64e8e028-acf8-11e9-843e-79e109b038141.1.1DisinformationDevelop approaches to counter disinformation_64e8e0c8-acf8-11e9-843e-79e109b038141.1.2Scholars, Practitioners & PolicymakersBuild and educate a community of scholars, practitioners and policymakers to foster an informed democratic society._64e8e366-acf8-11e9-843e-79e109b038141.1.3ScholarsPractitionersPolicymakersDigital Media_64e8e410-acf8-11e9-843e-79e109b038141.2Institute for Data, Democracy, and PoliticsGeorge Washington UniversityThe PublicJournalistsPolicymakers($5 million): To help the public, journalists, and policymakers understand digital media's influence on national dialogue and opinion, and to develop sound solutions to disinformation.Dialogue & OpinionFoster understanding of digital media's influence on national dialogue and opinion_64e8e4ba-acf8-11e9-843e-79e109b038141.2.1DisinformationDevelop solutions to disinformation_64e8e5be-acf8-11e9-843e-79e109b038141.2.2Politics & DemocracyStudy the impact of social media on politics and develop new methods and technology tools to analyze the impact of social media on democracy._64e8e672-acf8-11e9-843e-79e109b038141.3Center for Social Media and PoliticsNew York UniversitySocial Media($5 million): To directly study the impact of social media on politics and to develop new methods and technology tools to analyze the impact of social media on democracy.Democracy & Sociopolitical SystemsExamine the impact of the digital information environment on democracy and other sociopolitical systems._64e8e726-acf8-11e9-843e-79e109b038141.4Center for Information, Technology, and Public LifeUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel HillSocial Media PlatformsFacebookYouTube($5 million): To examine the impact of the digital information environment - especially the influence of social media platforms such as Facebook and YouTube - on democracy and other sociopolitical systems.Misinformation & Disinformation_64e8e7d0-acf8-11e9-843e-79e109b038141.5Center for an Informed Public University of Washington($5 million): To study how misinformation and disinformation flow through information systems; how information translates into values, beliefs and actions; and how researchers, educators, librarians and policymakers can intervene in these processes to foster a more informed society.Information SystemsStudy how misinformation and disinformation flow through information systems_64e8e88e-acf8-11e9-843e-79e109b038141.5.1Values, Beliefs & ActionsStudy how information translates into values, beliefs and actions_64e8e942-acf8-11e9-843e-79e109b038141.5.2Intervention & SocietyStudy how researchers, educators, librarians and policymakers can intervene in these processes to foster a more informed society._64e8ea00-acf8-11e9-843e-79e109b038141.5.3ResearchersEducatorsLibrariansPolicymakersInformation Systems & Knowledge CommunitiesStudy digital information systems and knowledge communities._64e8eabe-acf8-11e9-843e-79e109b038141.6Data & Society Research Institute($3 million): To provide general support to Data & Society's research program on digital information systems and knowledge communities, exploring both fragmentation of knowledge and ways of building resilience to socio-technical threats, and aiming to inform new approaches to the governance and design of data-centric and automated technologies with empirical findings.Democracy & InternetStudy of the impact of the internet on democracy._64e8eb7c-acf8-11e9-843e-79e109b038141.7Observatory on Social MediaIndiana University($3 million): To improve the study of the impact of the internet on democracy by increasing the scale, quality and availability of social media data and analytical tools to study that data.Democracy & Digital AgeStudy of the challenges that democracy faces in the digital age and what reforms are needed._64e8ec3a-acf8-11e9-843e-79e109b038141.8Project on Democracy and the InternetStanford University($2 million): To support the growth of Stanford's Project on Democracy and the Internet, which houses field-leading study of the challenges that democracy faces in the digital age and what reforms are needed - in companies and through regulation - to ensure that democracy can survive the internet.PolarizationStudy how newsrooms, scholars, platforms, and public policy entities can address polarization._64e8ed0c-acf8-11e9-843e-79e109b038141.9Center for Media Engagement University of Texas at Austin($2.5 million): To support the expansion of the Center for Media Engagement as it develops the study of how newsrooms, scholars, platforms, and public policy entities can address issues of polarization in society.Communication SystemsStudy the Wisconsin information landscape and support the development of tools to study state and regional communication systems._64e8edd4-acf8-11e9-843e-79e109b038141.10Center for Communication and Civic Renewal University of Wisconsin - Madison($1 million): To support the completion of a 10-year study on the Wisconsin information landscape and to support the development of tools to study state and regional communication systems - and their impact on democracy - in the digital age.Digital Public SphereAddress how law should regulate and social media companies should govern the digital public sphere._64e8eea6-acf8-11e9-843e-79e109b038141.11Project on Governing the Digital Public SphereYale University($2 million): To support the Yale Information Society Project's work on how law should regulate and social media companies should govern the digital public sphere.Digital MarketplacesStudy competition and antitrust issues in digital marketplaces._64e8f16c-acf8-11e9-843e-79e109b038141.12Thurman Arnold Project Yale University($200,000): To support the creation of the Thurman Arnold Project at the Yale School of Management to study competition and antitrust issues in digital marketplaces.RulesSupport policy and legal research addressing the rules that should govern social media and technology companies._64e8f270-acf8-11e9-843e-79e109b038142Social Media CompaniesTechnology CompaniesThe second is the dedication of $11 million for future investments that support policy and legal research addressing major, ongoing debates about the rules that should govern social media and technology companies.Digital CommunicationImprove research on the legal and governance aspects of digital communication._64e8f338-acf8-11e9-843e-79e109b038142.1A portion of these future investments will be made through an open funding opportunity to improve research on the legal and governance aspects of digital communication. Recent research, policy debates and public controversies have highlighted the absence of uniform consensus on the norms, rights and responsibilities that should govern digital services, in particular social media. Increasingly, our application of the law and of norms seems at best incomplete, and at worst, obsolete. This funding opportunity targets scholars focused on free expression and content moderation on digital platforms, the structure of the social media marketplace (including issues of competition and antitrust), and new paradigms for regulatory response. The controversies and concerns about how our democracy can thrive in a digital age are immense and immediate. New knowledge and expanded inquiry can prove durable, helping us to address a transformation that has been decades in the making — and that will continue to reshape our society and democracy for decades yet to come. Our investment is intended to support people and places that can help address the challenges of today, and that can continue to anticipate those challenges that we have not yet confronted or imagined. What is clear through the activity supported by these investments is that a burgeoning new field is already taking shape to meet the demands of the digital age. These centers bring together a variety of disciplines to tackle perennial questions in ways that are more responsive to the digital present. Through this investment, we hope to amplify the voices of those giving life to this emergent field, one we are confident will be of enduring and essential value for years to come.2019-07-212019-07-23https://medium.com/trust-media-and-democracy/strengthening-democracy-in-the-digital-age-knights-50-million-investment-in-a-new-field-of-1fc4fadf5ec4OwenAmburOwen.Ambur@verizon.net