Facebook won’t save us – but Hell’s Angels might

Rumours, lies and propaganda are as old as time. But now they spread at lightning speed across continents and wreak untold havoc – fanning conflicts, sowing mistrust and devastating lives. Social media companies are often blamed for fuelling this problem and we look to those same companies for the solutions. But what if we’re looking in the wrong place? More than 90 percent of Facebook’s user base are outside the United States, yet most rules are set by the company based on US experiences. 

Internews has decades of experience working with local communities dealing with the after effects of policies set by corporations headquartered thousands of miles away. We know what works best in countering rumours and disinformation: listening to local communities and supporting trusted local partners to counter them.

At this session, you’ll hear from Internews Chief Executive Jodie Ginsberg about how working with the motorbiking community in the Democratic Republic of Congo, women’s rights groups in Ecuador, and grannies in the Philippines can help tackle misinformation and save lives. She’ll draw on Internews’ experience of working in more than 100 countries and in dealing with crises such as the Ebola and Covid pandemics, the financial collapse of the media sector, and many years spent arm-wrestling with some of the world’s largest tech companies.