The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation has announced to devote $10 million over the next two years toward grappling with the growing problem that digital disinformation poses for U.S. democracy. Focusing primarily on the role of social media, the new funding commitment will support high-quality research to help improve decisions made by leaders in the technology sector as well as government and civil society advocates.
The effort is one part of the foundation’s “Madison Initiative,” founded in 2013 to strengthen the values, norms and institutions of U.S. democracy in a polarized era.
Hewlett Foundation President, Larry Kramer said, “The Hewlett Foundation’s efforts have been focused on improving the performance of democratic institutions, especially Congress. Meanwhile, a ceaseless stream of misinformation is eroding trust in those institutions and eating away at the very idea of our shared political community. Progress in repairing institutions will not matter if citizens are misinformed about what has been done, misled about why, and deceived about whether democracy can work at all.”
Director of the Foundation’s Madison Initiative, Daniel Stid said, “Americans – from citizens to policymakers to scholars to social media executives themselves – are just beginning to understand and acknowledge how technology platforms can spread disinformation, encourage polarization and undermine civil, democratic discourse. We hope that our grants will help shed light on the dark corners of the web, and lead to solutions that support a more informed democratic debate.”
The foundation’s decision to fund a robust, multidisciplinary research agenda focused on social media platforms and disinformation follows a yearlong exploration that engaged leading data scientists, political scientists, technology company representatives, civil society advocates, and other funders including through multiple convenings and an in-depth, independent review of the academic literature.
The foundation plans to support a small number of grantees with larger grants to advance the broader field of researchers, advocates and decision-makers.
