Fighting Disinformation To Safeguard Democracy Open Access Government

The Vital Importance of Open Government in an Age of Misinformation In an era saturated with misinformation and disinformation, the principles of open government and transparency have become more critical than ever. Access to accurate and reliable information about government operations is the bedrock of a healthy democracy, enabling citizens to make informed decisions, hold elected officials accountable, and actively participate in shaping public policy. Sunshine Week, an annual initiative dedicated to promoting open government, serves as a timely reminder of the importance of these principles and the legal frameworks that protect them. This year, as concerns about the spread of false and misleading information escalate, the need for transparency and access to verifiable facts is particularly acute. The foundation of a functioning democracy rests on the public’s ability to access credible information about their government.

Transparency allows citizens to understand the decision-making processes, monitor the actions of their representatives, and evaluate the effectiveness of government policies. Without access to this information, the public is left vulnerable to manipulation and propaganda, unable to effectively exercise their democratic rights and responsibilities. Open government serves as a crucial check on power, deterring corruption and promoting accountability. By shining a light on government activities, transparency fosters public trust and strengthens the integrity of democratic institutions. In Pennsylvania, robust legal frameworks safeguard the public’s right to access government information. The Pennsylvania Sunshine Act mandates that meetings of government agencies be open to the public, ensuring that official actions and deliberations are conducted transparently.

This allows citizens to witness firsthand how decisions are made and hold their elected officials accountable for their actions. Similarly, the Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Law grants the public the right to inspect and copy government records, providing a vital mechanism for uncovering potential wrongdoing and holding officials accountable for the use of public funds. While the law includes certain exemptions to protect sensitive information, the burden of proof lies with the government to demonstrate that a record is exempt from disclosure. The right to access government information extends beyond legislative and administrative activities to the judicial branch. The openness of the judicial system allows citizens to observe court proceedings, review court filings, and gain a deeper understanding of the legal process. This transparency is essential for maintaining public trust in the fairness and impartiality of the courts.

Only in the rarest circumstances are court records sealed or courtrooms closed, recognizing the fundamental importance of public access to judicial proceedings. Access data on OGP commitments. Filter commitments by location, policy area, and year. Search by keyword. How can open data help shine a light on political corruption and make political systems fairer and more inclusive? How can we further link people and data to create a chain of accountability?

Explore our new report. Evidence continues to show that open government affects people’s lives. But there are still skeptics who are not aware of all the benefits associated with this approach. Use this guide to convince them to take an open government approach when implementing reforms. Instances of politicians perpetuating falsehoods in public discourse have become disturbingly commonplace in recent times. Bill Adair, the creator of PolitiFact—a Pulitzer Prize-winning fact-checking platform—referred to this trend as “the epidemic of political lying” in a book he published last year.

Dishonesty has seeped into political and governmental spheres, encompassing everything from trivial fabrications to grandiose falsehoods, often strategically crafted to consolidate political clout or cling to power. Over the past decade, swathes of research have pointed to the dire consequences of this phenomenon: the proliferation of disinformation, which wreaks havoc on society in the form of polarization, manipulation, and, at its... However, the problem transcends isolated shortcomings by individual officials. When deceit evolves from ad hoc missteps to an orchestrated strategy—where state apparatuses construct intricate networks dedicated to the dissemination of deception—the stakes grow exponentially higher. Though state propaganda is far from new, recent decades have seen an explosion of more sophisticated tactics, radically altering the global communication equilibrium. The advent of social media has added fuel to this fire, empowering governments like never before.

These digital platforms, for all their initial promise of amplifying marginalized voices, have increasingly provided authorities with a direct pipeline to the public. Consequently, state-sponsored messaging has blanketed the online landscape, magnifying curated narratives far and wide. Even so, the government’s informational dominance is not confined to the digital realm alone. Substantial volumes of strategic messaging still flow through conventional media channels—such as television broadcasters, print media, and online news platforms. Unsurprisingly, steering the editorial direction of such outlets remains high on the agenda for most governments. Ironically, the very tool leveraged in government propaganda, disinformation, proves instrumental in cementing government control in the media as well.

Governments, it seems, walk a fine line in their approach to disinformation by wearing two hats. On one side, they orchestrate the spread of propaganda and false narratives through media under state control or influence. On the other, they purport to curb disinformation by implementing so-called anti-disinformation laws that more often than not act as a smokescreen for clamping down on press freedom and muzzling critical journalism. A high-level, evidence-informed guide to some of the major proposals for how democratic governments, platforms, and others can counter disinformation. The Technology and International Affairs Program develops insights to address the governance challenges and large-scale risks of new technologies. Our experts identify actionable best practices and incentives for industry and government leaders on artificial intelligence, cyber threats, cloud security, countering influence operations, reducing the risk of biotechnologies, and ensuring global digital inclusion.

The goal of the Partnership for Countering Influence Operations (PCIO) is to foster evidence-based policymaking to counter threats in the information environment. Key roadblocks as found in our work include the lack of: transparency reporting to inform what data is available for research purposes; rules guiding how data can be shared with researchers and for what... Carnegie’s Information Environment Project is a multistakeholder effort to help policymakers understand the information environment, think through the impact of efforts to govern it, and identify promising interventions to foster democracy. Disinformation is widely seen as a pressing challenge for democracies worldwide. Many policymakers are grasping for quick, effective ways to dissuade people from adopting and spreading false beliefs that degrade democratic discourse and can inspire violent or dangerous actions. Yet disinformation has proven difficult to define, understand, and measure, let alone address.

We’re sorry, this site is currently experiencing technical difficulties. Please try again in a few moments. Exception: forbidden Disinformation, the deliberate dissemination of false or misleading information to deceive or manipulate public opinion, represents a profound and ongoing threat to Western democracies. It erodes trust in institutions, fuels polarization, and undermines decision-making processes. Russian disinformation campaigns, in particular, showcase a sophisticated, multilayered system of narratives tailored to exploit societal vulnerabilities.

Understanding their architecture and methodologies is critical for crafting effective countermeasures to safeguard democratic systems. Moscow’s disinformation campaigns have achieved significant victories in reshaping public opinion and influencing geopolitical trajectories. In Georgia, Russian narratives have successfully steered segments of the population away from a Western-oriented path, fostering skepticism toward European integration and NATO membership. Similarly, these campaigns have undermined international support for Ukraine by spreading false narratives about the conflict, portraying Ukraine as a failed state or aggressor, and sowing doubts about the necessity of Western involvement. Moreover, Russia’s strategic use of disinformation has eroded trust in NATO, amplifying fears of alliance overreach and internal divisions. These successes highlight the dangerous efficacy of disinformation in advancing Moscow’s geopolitical agenda and emphasize the urgent need for robust counter-strategies.

Russian disinformation operates as a well-coordinated ecosystem capable of deploying and adapting diverse narratives across multiple platforms. These narratives are strategically designed to evolve in intensity and variation, targeting the unique characteristics of the media environments and societies they infiltrate. Countries with complex media landscapes are especially vulnerable due to the multiplicity of audiences and channels. Key narrative categories include the “Russian World” (Russkiy Mir), which solidifies identification with Russia among Russian-speaking populations, particularly in nations like Latvia, Estonia, and Ukraine. The narrative of Slavic Unity leverages shared ethnic and historical ties to bolster support for Russia’s geopolitical agenda. Similarly, nostalgia for the Soviet era challenges Western-dominated global systems by portraying Russia as a counterbalance to perceived Western hegemony.

Other narratives focus on “anti” rhetoric against the European Union, NATO, and liberal democratic values, resonating with far-right and nationalist movements in Europe. Finally, the strategy of presenting alternative and conflicting information seeks to erode the concept of objective truth, creating confusion and mistrust of credible sources. The systemic nature of these campaigns relies on a network of state institutions, including the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Federal Security Service, alongside state-controlled media and private actors. Even the Russian Orthodox Church plays a strategic role in amplifying these messages. Counteracting such interconnected networks requires a holistic and targeted approach that goes beyond addressing individual narratives to dismantle the broader infrastructure. A particularly insidious component of this ecosystem is the role of the Russian Orthodox Church and its affiliated organizations in advancing Kremlin-aligned narratives.

Under the guise of anti-cult activities, these efforts marginalize minority religious communities while promoting Russian imperialist ideologies. The Russian Association of Centers for the Study of Religions and Sects (RACIRS), led by Alexander Dvorkin, exemplifies this strategy. Through seminars, publications, and collaborations with media outlets, RACIRS propagates divisive rhetoric abroad, often justifying Russia’s foreign and domestic policies, including the invasion of Ukraine. For instance, RACIRS has engaged in partnerships with pro-Russian groups in Central and Eastern Europe to influence public opinion.

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