RISJ Director of Research joins European Commission High Level Group on disinformation
12 Jan 2018
RISJ Director of Research Rasmus Kleis Nielsen has joined the High Level Group created by the European Commission to advise on initiatives to counter the spread of disinformation online.
He says: “Democratic societies need quality information, and I am glad the European Commission is looking for ways policymakers can help citizens, news media, and technology companies ensure that information is produced, distributed, and used in ways that empower ordinary people to take part in public life.”
Professor Nielsen will bring to the group the Reuters Institute’s commitment to connecting independent, evidence-based research with the practical problems faced by citizens, professional journalists, media industries, and policymakers around the world. His input will draw on recent work from the institute including our annual Digital News Report on media use, our work on audience perspectives on fake news, as well as our wider work on how the media environment is changing and our new research project on misinformation, science and media, pursued with the Oxford Internet Institute and support from the Oxford Martin School.
The formation of the High Level Group was announced by Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans, Andrus Ansip, Vice-President for the Digital Single Market, and Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner responsible for Digital Economy and Society in November. Based on input from academics, technology companies, news media and civil society organisations, the High Level Group will work to contribute to the development of an EU-level strategy to problems of misinformation.
