Our curated library is packed full of knowledge, know-how and best practices in the fields of democracy and culture.
Read the latest on the Russian invasion of Ukraine and other critical world events in our library of democratic content. Gathered from trusted international sources, the curated library brings you a rich resource of articles, opinion pieces and more on democracy and culture to keep you updated.
Take a look at curated library below and search by keyword (i.e. Ukraine or authoritarianism) or format (i.e. article or report) and find a tailored list of resources on the topics you're most interested in.
Facebook is a Doomsday Machine
“In recent years, as Facebook’s mistakes have compounded and its reputation has tanked, it has become clear that negligence is only part of the problem. No one, not even Mark Zuckerberg, can control the product he made. I’ve come to realize that Facebook is not a media company. It’s a Doomsday Machine” (Adrienne LaFrance, 2020).
Democratic Offense Against Disinformation
This paper “is a road map for how countries can get ahead of foreign disinformation” and analyzes how “a structure for democratic defense against disinformation is emerging, consistent with the principles of transparency, accountability, and respect for freedom of expression” (Polyakova and Fried, 2020).
The Trustbusters Come for Facebook. Finally.
“Regulators could have imposed conditions on or even prevented Facebook, Google and others from pursuing deals that solidified their dominance. But they didn’t, and now they’re seeking to correct their apparent mistakes” (NYT Editorial Board, 2020).
Countering hybrid threats: the vital need for digital resilience
“Hybrid threats continue to change and evolve, impacting not only our societies but also governments, institutions, and private companies. … Yet while we continue to seek to enhance resilience against hybrid threats, the ways we’ve adapted to the pandemic are presenting us with new levels of vulnerability” (Courtney 2020).
Humans Can Help Clean Up Facebook and Twitter
“On Facebook and Twitter, the most inflammatory, unreliable and divisive posts are shared and too often believed more readily than those with verifiable facts...it’s apparent that much more needs to be done to rapidly and more consistently stop the proliferation of bad info, year round and globally” (Greg Bensinger, 2020).
How Venture Capitalists are Deforming Capitalism
“Even the worst-run startup can beat competitors if investors prop it up. The V.C. firm Benchmark helped enable WeWork to make one wild mistake after another—hoping that its gamble would pay off before disaster struck” (Charles Duhigg, 2020).
How to Save Democracy from Technology
The rise of giant internet platforms “should ring alarm bells—not just because they hold so much economic power but also because they wield so much control over political communication. These behemoths now dominate the dissemination of information and the coordination of political mobilization. That poses unique threats to a well-functioning democracy” (Francis Fukuyama, 2020).
Democratic Source Code for a New U.S.-EU Tech Alliance
“The pandemic has fueled data processing in contact-tracing apps; exposed vulnerabilities in supply chains; created new dependencies in classrooms and boardrooms on video communications technologies; and powered a spike in anti-vaxxer disinformation, QAnon conspiracy theories and radicalization” (Marietje Schaake and Tyson Barker, 2020).
Surveillance Capitalism Wasn't Built by Powerful Companies Alone
The “surveillance economy is made up not only of the powerful tech companies but also of the underlying assumptions, beliefs and economic models that reinforce them. Unless we scrutinize and question these beliefs, we risk merely rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic” (Anouk Ruhaak, 2020).
New thinking is needed on workers’ rights
“Technology is fundamentally reshaping the nature of work in other ways, as firms rethink their businesses after the pandemic. There will be new skills to learn, new responsibilities to master and new models of remote and hybrid working. Employees will be forced to adapt. Such constant change will be unsettling” (Azeem Azhar, 2020).
This site links to both original content and third-party content not owned by the Democracy & Culture Foundation, for which the foundation is not liable or responsible.