By Andy Grabel

AI bots, deep fakes, and foreign online troll armies don’t vote, but their influence on the electorate is undeniable. From Russian propaganda campaigns that leverage influencers to viral fiction spread by political candidates, a sea of disinformation and misinformation has engulfed our politics and national conversations about elections. So how do we get our arms around this perplexing problem and what can be done to address the threat to democracy?

National Digital Roundtable and the Embassy of Spain in Washington, D.C. hosted a breakfast convening last month that offered sobering assessments of this threat and potential solutions. Diplomats, First Amendment advocates, scholars, tech executives, content creators, and journalists came together to share their views and expertise about the harms caused by online disinformation in the 2024 election and in our society more broadly. As per agreement with attendees, to allow for an open, honest conversation on this issue, the National Digital Roundtable is sharing their quotes and insights without name attribution.

Across a wide spectrum of viewpoints, experts found agreement time and again on one universal truth: without real solutions, the spread of disinformation will continue to threaten democracies, both at home and around the globe.

“What concerns me most is where the burden lies, with online users and communities. There has to be an international policy response to the spread of disinformation. But Congress doesn’t operate in a way that is set up to address this problem. The incentive structure and difficulty in targeting the spread of disinformation helps maintain the status quo.”

Steps to combat the spread of disinformation

Grow investment in education– According to many experts at the Roundtable, the solutions to combating this vast, global threat must include strategies to educate the public about how to be discerning consumers of news and information. The harms caused by disinformation are not encumbered by geographic borders, limited to a particular political party, or always easy to identify in real time. Citizens and groups of divergent political affiliations, diverse backgrounds, and different levels of education fall victim to online disinformation every day.

Create relevant resources and elevate trusted voices – Access to more information online about how elections work and reliable news from content creators can be helpful those who may not read or view traditional media, according to experts at the Roundtable. With more channels and sources than ever for news consumers to find information about the election online, many are turning to social media, while fewer are turning to traditional sources, such as newspapers, television, and radio, than a generation ago. The reality is that online influencers and prodigious social media posters are to Gen Z what Walter Cronkite was to their grandparents’ generation.

“Kids look to their peers online for information and want raw information where they can make up their own minds and then make their own decisions. It’s critical to provide context and straightforward information for young people because they want actions and ways to get involved.”

Participants discussed the lack of research on disinformation in languages other than English. Disinformation in Spanish poses specific challenges. Some Spanish language disinformation outlets spread faster on social media platforms than on English language channels.

Hold industry accountable – Roundtable participants expressed a range of views about how and whether regulations and policy solutions could create a robust, reliable information ecosystem that builds trust. Can government create policy that protects free speech and puts more responsibility on social media companies to police disinformation? Many shared concerns about these companies not doing enough and the response being far too slow and inadequate to combat massive fraud that travels around the world with a few keystrokes.

“It’s important to distinguish between coordinated disinformation campaigns and individuals’ freedom of speech. We have experienced a pendulum shift with tech companies having reduced trust and safety teams who are not equipped to monitor and act to address disinformation on their platforms. That leaves it to others to communicate out when we see it online.”

Where do we go from here?

The challenges and opportunities shared during the Roundtable reflect how essential it is for a range of voices to remain engaged in developing meaningful solutions to combat the spread of disinformation. Creating solutions that balance free speech, accountability, accessibility to reliable information, and other considerations will require advocates, experts, policymakers, and other stakeholders to continue this vital dialogue. If the disinformation threats shared during the Roundtable discussion are a bellwether of what’s to come, defenders of democracy can ill afford to accept the status quo.

This Roundtable recap was written by Andy Grabel, a strategic communications professional based in Fairfax, Va.