Preserving a strong democracy: Facebook’s impact on elections focus of new initiative
Last month, the Federal Trade Commission opened an investigation into how Cambridge Analytica, a political consulting firm with ties to President Trump’s campaign, accessed data from more than 87 million Facebook users in an effort to influence their voting behavior. While much is yet to be discovered, one thing is clear: As the role of technology platforms in the spread and reach of information grows, understanding its effects on our most fundamental choices — from how we vote to what we believe — is vital to preserving a strong democracy.
On Monday, Knight Foundation and other funders joined with the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation to support a new independent research initiative that will explore the role of social media in elections and our democracy. Facebook will give a diverse group of scholars access to proprietary data, while preserving user privacy under its new security rules.
A research committee, made up of academic experts, will develop a research agenda and solicit proposals from the wider academic community to shed light on the impact of social media, and Facebook in particular, on problems ranging from the spread of disinformation to breaches of data privacy. Research will examine online behavior on platforms and explore solutions to these issues, while addressing how we might adjust existing practices around privacy and free speech. All research will be paid for by the funders group, to ensure independence.
This work aligns with Knight Foundation’s Trust, Media and Democracy initiative, launched in 2017 to address the information challenges of our day. The initiative includes the Knight Commission on Trust, Media and Democracy, a nonpartisan group of influencers who are exploring causes for the erosion of trust in democratic institutions, in particular the news media. A key focus: technology’s impact on our information ecosystem, and, correspondingly, its power to shape people’s lives in ways big and small.
Coming at a time when Congress and the public are demanding answers, the research promises to be a deep dive into the mechanics of how information spreads on Facebook during an election cycle. It’s an unprecedented move by Facebook to invite scrutiny of its practices by an independent group.
“Research will examine online behavior on platforms and explore solutions to these issues, while addressing how we might adjust existing practices around privacy and free speech. All research will be paid for by the funders group, to ensure independence.”
Technology and the internet have fulfilled their promise of greater connection, engagement and innovation in radical ways. The potential to do more good is tremendous. But to realize these opportunities, we must address the deep challenges that come with a rapidly changing information environment and acknowledge the role of technology platforms in fueling these issues.
Above all, solving these problems requires collaboration. It cannot be done absent the cooperation and willingness of technology platforms to embrace more transparent business practices. We hope that this initiative will help open new avenues for platforms to better serve our democracy.
Please see the following resources to learn more about the new research initiative:
- Press release: Hewlett, Knight, Koch Foundations, with Other Funders, will Support Independent Research on Facebook’s Role in Elections and Democracy
- Facebook’s announcement: Facebook Launches New Initiative to Help Scholars Assess Social Media’s Impact on Elections
- A New Model for Industry-Academic Partnerships, the proposal informing the structure of this research initiative.
- Statement by Social Science Research Council on its role helping to form a steering committee of independent scholars.
