Politics and media
(Strasbourg) “Information is changing dramatically. Traditional media are now supplemented by, competing with and often overshadowed by websites, blogs and social media. These new sources of information enable millions of people to share information with a single click, without any filters and without any control”. This premise underlies the idea of a World Forum for Democracy 2019, sponsored by the Council of Europe from 6 to 8 November in Strasbourg, which will bring together “intellectuals, politicians, activists, experts and young people from all over the world” to “discuss the theme of democracy in the information age”. “Faced with these upheavals, the question of the reliability and accessibility of information, which are essential conditions for citizens’ participation in democratic processes, will be central to the exchanges”, a statement reads. The issues to be addressed include: “Democracy dies in darkness: do we have all the information we need?”; “Restoring trust in the media”; “Information and Technology: friends or foes?”; and “Freedom of expression and protection of journalists”. There will be ten labs to discuss artificial intelligence and information, disinformation and fake news, the safety of journalists, and democracy in the digital age.
