• Welcome to the

    Misinformation Village

    August 10-13, 2023 Las Vegas, USA (Caesars Forum - Room 224)

  • DEFCON 31

    August 11-13, 2023

    Las Vegas, USA

    Caesar's Forum

  • OUR MISSION

    The Misinformation Village is a collaborative of dis- and misinformation researchers, data analysts and computer linguists, cybersecurity and defence professionals, and all like-minded professionals across academia, civil society, government and industry.

    We seek to establish open and broad-sector frameworks to define, expose, analyze and counter the security challenges of misinformation and disinformation campaigns on democratic regimes, free markets, public trust, and open and progressive societies.

     

    WHY OPEN FRAMEWORKS?

    Open frameworks and open data infrastructure enhance and promote the production of scientific knowledge and industry expertise as they enable collaboration, information sharing, transparency, and reproducibility.

     

    We aim to provide a common "space" for researchers to share data, tools, and knowledge, information, context, story, you name it leading to more accurate, fuller, richer, trusted research outcomes, better-informed policy decisions, and innovative solutions to complex problems. Diverse and inclusive research outcomes will ensure the benefits of scientific progress are shared widely, and so it means diverse speakers, unorthodox ideas and unfinished projects. By supporting open frameworks, we strive to accelerate scientific discovery, innovation, and create a more collaborative space for professionals and audience members activated in this space.

     

    WHAT ARE OUR GOALS?

    Our mission is to inform, create and share new resources on the thorny and intersectional information, cognitive and security challenge that is disinformation. We want to remain a physical space for broad-sector problem definition and collaboration. Specifically, we aim to:

    • Engage technologists, hackers, builders, civil society, defence and law enforcement communities and public servants through rich content, workshops, hackathons, and challenges.
    • Engage with media professionals and storytellers on the subject of emerging tech, democracy challenges and information warfare to tell better, more diverse, wholesome stories about what the stakes are, who are the winners and losers and hear directly from affected populations
    • Address open-knowledge infrastructures deficits and draw attention to vulnerabilities within existing information ecosystems
    • Provide a continuous and resilient space for trust, safety, and civic integrity professionals to engage with the industry.

    Throughout our efforts, we also aim to provide and stir funding towards new tools, open knowledge movements and communities, existing and new communities of practice and collaboratives in the ecosystem.

     

    WE WANT YOU! (OUR AUDIENCE)

    We welcome a broad audience of technologists, builders, cognitive scientists, cybersecurity professionals, hackers, social scientists, computer linguists, data analysts, storytellers, and media professionals to join our movement.

  • Video Library

    Our multi-disciplinary conference covers a wide range of topics such as hybrid strategies of autocratic states, gendered health misinformation, cogni

  • Program Overview

    The deadline for submitting proposals is July 3rd, 2022, 23:59 PM Hawaii Standard Time. Notification for speakers will start on July 11th via email.

     

    Some accepted proposals will qualify for a DefCon 30 human badge.

     

    We are looking for proposals on the following topics:

     

    - History of how misinformation has evolved through the years

     

    - Identifying and measuring the spread of mis- and disinformation

     

    - Current research on social media companies and how they are handling misinformation

     

    - What normal people on social media are doing to combat misinformation and the repercussions of that activism on their personal lives

     

    - How misinformation is being used in warfare

     

    -How to deprogram or approach family members who are too far down the rabbit hole

     

    - The ecosystem of misinformation and offending actors

     

    - Algorithmic accountability and the science of knowledge integrity

     

    - New multi-modal frameworks for platform and content safety

     

    - Misinformation and upholding free expression and online democratic debate

     

    - Elections verification and strengthening elections information ecosystems and processes

     

    - Unbiased news and new media business models

     

  • AGENDA FOR MISINFORMATION VILLAGE 2022

    Times are US Pacific Time

    Friday, August 12, 2022

    10:30 - 11:30: The Hybrid Strategies of Autocratic States: Narrative Characteristics of Disinformation Campaigns in Relation To Issues of a Scientific-Health Nature - Workshop with Carlos Galán [Slides]

     

    11:30 - 13:30: Academic Integration (Lightning Talks)

    • Examining the Urgency of Gendered Health Misinformation Online Through Three Case Studies - Jenna Sherman (Meedan) [Watch Video] [Slides].

    • Cognitive Security: Human Vulnerabilities, ExSploits, & TTPs - Matthew Canham (Beyond Layer Seven) [Slides]

    • Detecting the "Fake News" Before It Was Even Written, Media Literacy, and Flattening the Curve of the COVID-19 Infodemic - Preslav Nakov (Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence)

    • Uncovering Multi-platform Misinformation Campaigns with Information Tracer - Zhouhan Chen (New York University) [Slides]

    • SimPPL: Simulating Social Networks and Disinformation - Swapneel Mehta (New York University) [Slides]

    • Dazed and Seriously Confused: Analysis of Data Voids & the Disinformation Landscape of Central Asia - Rhyner Washburn (University of Maryland) [Watch Video] [Slides]

    13:30 - 14:00: Break

     
    14:30 - 16:00: Fireside Chat with Jennifer Matthieu (Graphika) and Adam Hickey (US Department of Justice)
     
    16:00 - 17:00: Lightning Talks
    • Tracking Scams and Disinformation by Hacking Link Shorteners - Justin Rheinhart and Sam Curry (Pillsade Consulting)

    • History of Russian Cyber & Information Warfare (2007 - Present) - Ryan Westman (E-Sentire) [Slides]

    • History of the Weaponization of Social Media - Gina Rosenthal (Independent) [Slides]

    • Information Confrontation 2022: A Loud War and a Quiet Enemy - Luke Richards (Independent)

    Saturday, August 13, 2022

    10:00 - 10:45: Tools for Fighting Disinformation - Workshop with Preslav Nakov - Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence)

     

    10:45 - 12:30: Mass Disinformation Operations: How to Detect and Assess Ops with OSINT and SOCMINT Tools and Techniques - Workshop with Paula González [Slides]

     

    12:30 - 13:15: Cognitive Security in Theory and Practice - Workshop with Sara-Jayne Terp [Slides]

     

    13:15 - 14:15: Break

     

    14:15 - 15:45: Talks and Demos

    • Memory Holing and the SEO Warping of Human History - Arikia Milikan (Journalist, Media Consultant)

    • Web Monetization: A Privacy-Preserving and Open Way to Earn from Content - Tech Demo with Uchi Uchibeke (Coil) [Slides]

    • Fireside Chat with Arikia Milikan and Uchi Uchibeke

    15:45 - 16:15: Guest Speaker Jessica Dheere (Ranking Digital Rights)
     
    16:15 - 16:45: Not Feeling Yourself: User Spoofing and Other Disinformation Exploits - Burninator [Slides]
    16:45 - 17:15 The Television News Visual Explorer: Cataloging Visual Narratives & Lending Context

    Kalev Leetaru (Founder, GDELT Project) [Watch Video]

  • Contact Us

    Are you interested in contributing to the Misinformation Village?Feel free to send us a message here