Great insights and food for thought: International research on countering disinformation concluded
Cathleen Berger, Charlotte Freihse, Otto Meyer zu Schwabedissen
Disinformation does not stop at borders. Countermeasures must therefore be just as international and interlinked. But are they? As part of Upgrade Democracy, we investigated this question in close cooperation with regional research partners in order to gain an overview of the global landscape of counter-disinformation initiatives and to identify commonalities and differences that will help us to further develop successful countermeasures.
“If the actors involved in the dissemination of disinformation narratives act in a coordinated manner, a successful effort to counter their attempts requires at least a similar coordination.”
(Eduardo Ferreyra and Alejandro E. Segarra, Asociación de Derechos Civiles, Argentina)
Today, we are publishing our findings in a series of 7 reports. Our partners summarise their findings in five regional reports: The Digital Asia Hub team (Hong Kong) explores nine country-level case studies from Asia, CIPESA (Uganda) sheds light on the relationships, attitudes, and patterns of actors in Africa, GPPi (Germany) looks at the landscape of civil society and private sector initiatives in Europe, the Bertelsmann Foundation North America (USA) takes a look at the troubling situation in the U.S. and Asociación de Derechos Civiles (Argentina) paints a multifaceted picture of the situation in Latin America. A sixth report examines government responses to disinformation and outlines the risks and potentials of various international approaches.
Report number 7 is intended to help our readers find their way around. Here, we compiled findings, trends, and illustrative examples from all six reports and analysed them structured along 14 relevant observations. From the technology-enhanced fact-checking approaches of Chequeado (Argentina) or Aos Fatos (Brazil), to the community-driven debunking of JamiiCheck (Tanzania) or the rapid response mechanism at Real411 (South Africa), to the thought-provoking media literacy trainings of Fact Shala (India) and Mafindo (Indonesia) – the range of innovative and instructive approaches is remarkable. So, if you want to know more about the differences and similarities of social media use, the role of civil society, the ambiguities of government responses, the influence of zero-rating or AI in election campaigns, start with the comparative analysis – and then delve deeper into the individual regions.
Cathleen Berger
Cathleen Berger
Co-Lead
Cathleen Berger’s professional experience spans across sectors: academia, government, non-profit, corporate, and start-up. Her work and research focus on the intersection of digital technologies, sustainability, and social impact. She currently works with the Bertelsmann Stiftung as Co-Lead for Upgrade Democracy as well as the Reinhard Mohn Prize 2024 and Senior Expert on future technologies and sustainability. In addition, she occasionally advises and works with social purpose companies and organisations on their climate and social impact strategies.
Previously, she directed the B Corporation certification process of a pre-seed climate tech start-up, launched and headed up Mozilla’s environmental sustainability programme, worked within the International Cyber Policy Coordination Staff at the German Foreign Office, as a consultant with Global Partners Digital, a research assistant at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), and a visiting lecturer at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena.
Co-Lead
Charlotte Freihse
Charlotte Freihse
Project Manager
Charlotte Freihse is a project manager in the Bertelsmann Stiftung’s Upgrade Democracy project, where she focuses primarily on platform governance and disinformation, as well as the impact of digital technologies on public opinion-forming and discourse. Before joining the foundation, she was a freelancer in the newsroom of Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR). In parallel, she was a research assistant in the European research project NETHATE and developed a categorization system for intervention measures against online hate speech with the University of Jena and Das NETTZ. Charlotte holds a Master’s degree in Peace and Conflict Studies with a focus on digital technologies in conflicts as well as peace processes.
Project Manager
Otto Meyer zu Schwabedissen
Otto Meyer zu Schwabedissen
Project manager
Otto Meyer zu Schwabedissen works as a project manager in the Upgrade Democracy team at Bertelsmann Stiftung, where he is completing a traineeship. In his work, he primarily focuses on the international (counter-)disinformation landscape. Before joining the foundation, he earned a political science degree from the University of Konstanz.
Project manager
