The Open Internet for Democracy Initiative (OIDI) announced the selection of the first cohort of open internet advocates for the Open Internet for Democracy Leaders Program. The six outstanding leaders (see their profiles below) were chosen from nearly two hundred applicants, and represent a diverse group of global advocates from local civic, media, and private sector organizations that are passionate about protecting and promoting an open internet.

Brussels, Belgium — The Defending Digital Democracy project (D3P) at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center joined the International Republican Institute (IRI) and the National Democratic Institute (NDI) for the public launch of the “The Cybersecurity Campaign Playbook: European Edition” in Brussels on May 22, 2018.

While disinformation in traditional media has been used for decades, digital disinformation and computational propaganda, which uses artificial intelligence and political “bots” or pieces of code to manipulate public opinion online, have grown exponentially. An increasing number of elections across Europe and Eurasia are influenced by disinformation tactics.

To address this challenge, NDI conducted a four-day academy for 15 citizen election monitoring organizations from 11 countries. The event, which was held in Belgrade in April 2018, provided citizen activists with new strategies, skills, and tools to identify and expose disinformation during elections and to use electoral data to raise the level of fact-based discourse.

As technology’s role in democracy continues to grow and evolve, NDI is pleased to expand its team with two new staff members, each of whom brings professional experiences along with a deep commitment to strengthening democracy throughout the world.