On September 2-5, 2024, the Institute for Global Governance Research (GGR) hosted its 3rd intensive seminar on “Countering Disinformation and Protecting Democracy,” attended by 11 undergraduate and graduate students from across the country. The GGR invited leading scholars and activists working at the forefront of the field to give lectures. Participants were divided into four thematic groups to engage in hands-on learning about disinformation and its countermeasures.
On the first day, Professor Maiko Ichihara (Hitotsubashi University) gave a keynote presentation on disinformation and the role of narratives. The manipulation of information and the spread of authoritarian narratives can alter the perceptions of those who embrace democratic values. She noted that it is therefore important to identify and provide different narratives in advance for the people the disinformation is trying to appeal to. In the afternoon, Ms. Sascha Hannig (Doctoral student, Hitotsubashi University) explained why disinformation is dangerous to democracy, focusing on three factors: the importance of trust in democracy, polarization and influencers, and anti-democratic narratives at the international level. The middle part of the seminar focused on the practical training conducted by Mr. Daisuke Furuta (Editor-in-Chief, Japan Factcheck Center) and Ms. Poyu Tseng (Consultant, Doublethink Lab). Mr. Furuta provided several examples of how people are psychologically manipulated by unchecked information, emphasizing the importance of source verification and slow thinking that help rationally examine complex information. As more proactive strategies, Ms. Tseng introduced tailored, human-centered approaches that can empathize with disinformation consumers to counter disinformation. On the last day, Professor Kaori Hayashi (Tokyo University) challenged students to think about good journalism by presenting two different paradigms assessing the role of facts and narratives in news articles.
【Event report prepared by】
Takahiro Nakajima (Master’s student, Graduate School of Law, Hitotsubashi University)
Akihito Kishi (Bachelor’s student, Faculty of Law, Hitotsubashi University)
Minhee Jeong (Doctoral student, Graduate School of Law, Hitotsubashi University)
