Infodemic: Half-Truths, Lies, and Critical Information in a Time of Pandemics

Note: This is a past event, additional resources may be available below.

Date

Thu Mar 19, 2020
2:00pm – 3:00pm

Location


Virtual

As COVID-19 continues to spread across the globe, so does misinformation — thwarting efforts to control the disease and risking lives. In this webinar, Dr. Claire Wardle, a leading expert on content verification, outlined the global trends around information flows and the coronavirus. What misinformation is spreading? How is accurate information being shared? How are newsrooms, health authorities, platforms and businesses responding? During this unprecedented emergency, are we prepared for the impact of rumors and falsehoods that could have serious consequences? Together, we discussed whether we are prepared during this unprecedented emergency for the impact of rumors and falsehoods that could have serious consequences.

Claire is joined by CNN reporter Donie O’Sullivan who covers the intersection of technology and politics, and investigates online disinformation campaigns.

Aspen Digital Executive Director Vivian Schiller moderated.

Dr. Claire Wardle is a leading expert on user generated content, verification and misinformation. She is co-founder and director of First Draft, the world’s foremost nonprofit focused on research and practice to address mis- and disinformation. In 2017 she co-authored a report for the Council of Europe entitled, Information Disorder: Toward an interdisciplinary framework for research and policymaking.

Dr. Wardle is a co-founder and Executive Chair of First Draft, the world’s foremost nonprofit focused on research and practice to address mis- and disinformation. Previously, Dr. Wardle was a Research Fellow at the Shorenstein Center for Media, Politics and Public Policy, and also the Research Director at the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia Journalism School. She has worked with newsrooms and humanitarian organizations around the world, providing training and consultancy on digital transformation. Dr. Wardle earned a PhD in communications and an MA in political science from the University of Pennsylvania. She is based in New York City.

Donie O’Sullivan is a CNN reporter covering the intersection of technology and politics. He is part of the CNN Business team and works closely with CNN’s investigative unit tracking and identifying online disinformation campaigns targeting the American electorate. He also covers how social media platforms, Congress, and the American intelligence community are responding to the threat of disinformation and troll campaigns.

O’Sullivan was part of a team that uncovered several major Russian government-linked social media campaigns targeting Americans in the run-up to the 2016 U.S. presidential election. His work was later used by congress investigators and others examining the extent of Russian meddling ahead of the election. He previously worked as part of CNN’s Social Discovery team, finding and verifying videos, pictures, and eyewitness accounts from social media during breaking news events. Before joining CNN, O’Sullivan worked for Storyful, a social media verification news agency, in New York and Dublin, Ireland. He has a master’s degree in political science from Queen’s University Belfast in Northern Ireland.

Vivian Schiller is Executive Director of Aspen Digital. Over the last 30 years, Vivian has held executive roles at some of the most respected media organization in the world. Those include: President and CEO of NPR; Global Chair of News at Twitter; General Manager of NYTimes.com; Chief Digital Office of NBC News; chief of the Discovery Times Channel, a joint venture of The New York Times and Discovery Communications; and head of CNN documentary and long form divisions. Documentaries and series produced under her auspices earned multiple honors, including three Peabody Awards, four Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia University Awards, and dozens of Emmys. Schiller is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations; and a Director of the Scott Trust, which owns The Guardian. She is also strategic advisor to Craig Newmark Philanthropies.As COVID-19 continues to spread across the globe, so does misinformation — thwarting efforts to control the disease and risking lives. In this webinar, Dr. Claire Wardle, a leading expert on content verification, will outline the global trends around information flows and the coronavirus. What misinformation is spreading? How is accurate information being shared? How are newsrooms, health authorities, platforms and businesses responding? During this unprecedented emergency, are we prepared for the impact of rumors and falsehoods that could have serious consequences? Together, we’ll discuss whether we are prepared during this unprecedented emergency for the impact of rumors and falsehoods that could have serious consequences.

Claire will be joined by CNN reporter Donie O’Sullivan who covers the intersection of technology and politics, and investigates online disinformation campaigns.

Aspen Digital Executive Director Vivian Schiller will moderate.

Join the webinar

Dr. Claire Wardle

is a leading expert on user generated content, verification and misinformation. She is co-founder and director of First Draft, the world’s foremost nonprofit focused on research and practice to address mis- and disinformation. In 2017 she co-authored a report for the Council of Europe entitled, Information Disorder: Toward an interdisciplinary framework for research and policymaking.

Dr. Wardle is a co-founder and Executive Chair of First Draft, the world’s foremost nonprofit focused on research and practice to address mis- and disinformation. Previously, Dr. Wardle was a Research Fellow at the Shorenstein Center for Media, Politics and Public Policy, and also the Research Director at the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia Journalism School. She has worked with newsrooms and humanitarian organizations around the world, providing training and consultancy on digital transformation. Dr. Wardle earned a PhD in communications and an MA in political science from the University of Pennsylvania. She is based in New York City.

Donie O’Sullivan is a CNN reporter covering the intersection of technology and politics. He is part of the CNN Business team and works closely with CNN’s investigative unit tracking and identifying online disinformation campaigns targeting the American electorate. He also covers how social media platforms, Congress, and the American intelligence community are responding to the threat of disinformation and troll campaigns.

O’Sullivan was part of a team that uncovered several major Russian government-linked social media campaigns targeting Americans in the run-up to the 2016 U.S. presidential election. His work was later used by congress investigators and others examining the extent of Russian meddling ahead of the election. He previously worked as part of CNN’s Social Discovery team, finding and verifying videos, pictures, and eyewitness accounts from social media during breaking news events. Before joining CNN, O’Sullivan worked for Storyful, a social media verification news agency, in New York and Dublin, Ireland. He has a master’s degree in political science from Queen’s University Belfast in Northern Ireland.

Vivian Schiller is Executive Director of Aspen Digital. Over the last 30 years, Vivian has held executive roles at some of the most respected media organization in the world. Those include: President and CEO of NPR; Global Chair of News at Twitter; General Manager of NYTimes.com; Chief Digital Office of NBC News; chief of the Discovery Times Channel, a joint venture of The New York Times and Discovery Communications; and head of CNN documentary and long form divisions. Documentaries and series produced under her auspices earned multiple honors, including three Peabody Awards, four Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia University Awards, and dozens of Emmys. Schiller is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations; and a Director of the Scott Trust, which owns The Guardian. She is also strategic advisor to Craig Newmark Philanthropies.

Why Gender-Based Violence Is an Economic Issue

Watch our latest installment of the Women in the Economy webinar series on AI, featuring leading women in tech.

Policy 101

Join the Aspen Policy Academy to learn the basics of the policy process in this 1-hour webinar.

Feeling the Heat: Workplace Safety in a Warming World

For the benefit of workers, businesses, and our society, we need to build workplace heat safety into our culture, policies, and practices if we are to adapt to our warming planet. Join the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program on Wednesday, July 30, at 1:30 p.m. Eastern time, on Zoom to learn about how the warming climate is affecting workers, and what policymakers, businesses, and labor are doing to keep workers safe. This event is part of EOP’s Opportunity in America conversation series.

How to Tell Governments What You Think

Learn how to tell government actors what you think about their ideas in this 1-hour webinar.

Flash Seminar: Rooting Our Leadership in Humanity – August 2025

Get a glimpse into what the Aspen method of text-based dialogue can do to strengthen the connection between your leadership and your values

Writing a Public Comment

Learn a framework for writing effective public comments in this 1-hour webinar.

2025 Aspen Cyber Summit

Join us in celebrating 10 years of dialogue at the 2025 Aspen Cyber Summit in Washington, DC, on Tuesday, November 18.

Writing an Op-Ed

Learn how to draft an op-ed to advance a broader goal of policy change in this 1-hour webinar.

Communicating for Policy

Learn the basics of communicating your ideas for policy impact to stakeholders both in and outside of government in this 1-hour webinar.

Scoping a Policy Problem

Join the Aspen Policy Academy to learn the basics of defining a policy problem in this 1-hour webinar.