INVESTIGATIONS WORKSHOP

After devastating setbacks across the entire disinformation research field, Joan Donovan, PhD is returning with a mission to address political violence motivated by disinformation campaigns. 

The Critical Internet Studies Institute (CISI) is developing and testing a unique expert curriculum to ensure that technologists who are interested in building, and advocating for, a public interest internet can more capably analyze technology as a political tool. 

In August 2024, Critical Internet Studies Institute and The Chicago Center for Contemporary Theory  (3CT) co-hosted the first in a series of Investigations Workshops for journalists, researchers, and advocates for civil rights. The day featured remarks by Professor Joe Masco, University of Chicago Professor of Anthropology and Social Sciences at 3CT; knowledge and technical capacity-building trainings led by Craig Silverman from ProPublica (“Investigating Political Advertising Online”) and Jane Lytvynenko (“Investigating Telegram”); a civil society panel on technology and human rights featuring Belle Torek (Senior AI & Tech Fellow at Human Rights Campaign), Jenni Olson, (Program Director for Social Media Safety Program at GLAAD), and Claire Atkin (Co-founder, Check My Ads), as well as a framing new talk by CISI Founder Joan Donovan (on “Making Sense of Political Violence and Networked Incitement”).

Given that innovations in social media have been unable to address the harms caused by the strategic use of disinformation, new theories and methods are needed to study how culture and politics are shaped by the use and abuse of emerging technology. CISI's workshops share relevant and actionable findings from the frontlines of cross-sector, cross-disciplinary research and advocacy in this space. 

Interested in hosting a CISI Investigations Workshop? Reach out here: info@publicinterestinter.net