DAUK Film Night: Countering Disinformation and False News in 2020: Operation Infektion

Don’t miss this opportunity to investigate and discuss some of the most critical and challenging issues facing Western democracies and the integrity of our elections: the political deployment of disinformation and false news.

We welcome another leading expert to the Panel: David Patrikarakos, author, broadcaster, journalist, and academic. See 'About the Speakers' for further details.

The screening of Operation Infektion, a concise and well-resourced film produced by the New York Times, serves as a curtain-raiser for this discussion.

The after-screening panel of leading experts will help us navigate the many issues involved, and how we, as voters and activists, can counter these strategies and protect ourselves.

Addressing these issues is urgent. Every day brings news about 'faked' videos', false conspiracy theories, photoshopped images or the corrosive activities of professional trolls on Twitter. And the key tech giants, Twitter, Facebook and Google, are now responding to challenges about their practices and responsibilities.

About the film:

Operation Infektion analyzes the history, tactics and objectives of Russian "active measures". Using eye-catching and innovative visuals, and a tight, clear script to tell a complex story, the film forensically dissects a decades-old Soviet toolbox and shows how it applies to most of the disinformation we are exposed to today.

Interviews with former KGB spies, State Department officials and disinformation experts explain how techniques developed in the 1980s have been enhanced and refined to adapt to the modern world and contemporary technology. As one interviewee explains, this has unleashed the potential of the internet and social media to use often preposterous lies to "deceive, manipulate, confuse and sow chaos" on an unprecedented scale.

Panel Discussion and Q and A's

A discussion and Q and A with a panel of leading experts will look at the broader and current issues: other disinformation players, the role of social media platforms - data mining, micro-targeting, false political ads and so-called deep fakes - in distorting political debate. Are legislative and regulatory remedies the right – and only – answer? How vulnerable is the US presidential election this year? Can we learn anything from how other countries protect their elections? How can we develop the tools we need to be media literate and to resist false narratives?

We will discuss and explore strategies on how to prepare for and counter these measures: how voters can protect themselves, recognize and deal with disinformation, and what we should lobby lawmakers and regulators to do.

6:30 p.m. Doors open for check-in

7:00 p.m. Introduction and Welcome

7:05 p.m. Screening of Operation Infektion (45 minutes)

8:00 p.m. Panel discussion

9:30 p.m. Evening ends

About the Speakers:

Edward Lucas, who appears in the film, is a journalist and expert in energy, intelligence and cyber-security issues. He has covered Central and Eastern European affairs since 1986, writing, broadcasting, and speaking on the politics, economics, and security of the region. He witnessed the final years of the last Cold War, the fall of the Iron Curtain and the collapse of the Soviet empire. He spent 23 years at the The Economist, working as a foreign correspondent and later as a senior editor until 2017.

Lucas has edited Standpoint magazine since September 2019 and serves as senior vice-president at the Center for European Policy Analysis. He writes a regular column for The Times. He is the author of The New Cold War, Deception, The Snowden Operation and Cyberphobia.

David Patrikarakos is an author, journalist and broadcaster specialising in disinformation. His most recent book War in 140 Characters: How Social Media is Reshaping Conflict in 21st Century was published in November 2017. He has also written for many leading publications and regularly appears on TV and radio.

He is a Poynter Fellow at Yale and an Associate Fellow of the School of Iranian Studies, St Andrews University, and has lectured at major universities and think tanks in the US and UK, as well as at West Point and British Army HQ. He has also briefed Parliament, the Foreign Office and MPs on the Middle East and Eastern Europe.

Kyle Taylor, is the founder and director of Project Fairvote UK, a consultancy and advocacy group focusing on data misappropriation in elections and big tech regulation. He has expertise in the issues around misinformation strategies in US (and UK) voting and elections, including the operation of data collection, mining and targeting of voters.

Magda Walter, moderator, is a former senior broadcast journalist for US TV networks PBS, CNN, CNBC and NBC News in Moscow (where she was bureau chief). She is an international communications strategist, media consultant and journalism trainer.

She has led and edited several large research studies into the impact of Russian disinformation on countries of the former USSR with recommendations for policy change aimed at strengthening independent media in the region. In this area, she has collaborated with the European Endowment for Democracy in Brussels, Center for European Policy Analysis in Washington and the Baltic Centre for Media Excellence in Riga and spoken on panels at several international conferences.

Do book early as this is certain to be a very popular event!

Please note: Unless sold out, tickets will be available on the door.

Special notices:

In compliance with US campaign and party funding laws, we can only accept payments from US citizens and green card holders. Non-US citizens are very welcome to attend, but only as guests of US citizens who must book and pay for—as a gift—their guests' admission. By booking and paying for tickets for this event, you are confirming that you are a US citizen or green card holder. You must tick a box affirming this before completing your purchase.

If you are unable for any reason to book online using this website, please email us with your request. Advance bookings will only be taken until 5 p.m. on the day of the screening.

This event is CLOSED to the press.