RuleOfLawThis session is part of the IBA Foundation's Rule of Law Town Hall series

Our distinguished guests will discuss the phenomena of misinformation, disinformation, and their widespread acceptance; the risks that they can pose to democratic societies and the rule of law; and how inaccurate information can most effectively be countered and its destructive potential avoided.

While propaganda is not new, our generation has seen what can happen to the rule of law when misinformation and disinformation are combined with the power of social media. We have seen a grand false narrative in Russia, the hacking and weaponization of information for political purposes, and the widespread dissemination of false information in the United States that has further polarized that country. Not only can disinformation threaten the rule of law, but, as the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol has shown us, it can threaten and de-stabilize democratic societies.

This session will discuss how the United States, and other countries, might deal with this new phenomenon. Various approaches have been discussed, among them:

• credible investigations that document facts and expose disinformation;
• prosecutions of those who, based on misinformation, violate the law;
• regulation of dissemination of disinformation on social media;
• a re-examination of traditional free speech standards and protections;
• updated journalistic standards and techniques for reaching the public;
• election of candidates who are problem-solvers rather than ideologues;
• and improved civic education and a better-informed citizenry.

In this town hall style session knowledgeable speakers with relevant first-hand experience from the United States and around the world will explore these topics in a non-partisan debate that encourages audience participation.

Neil Brown, president of the Poynter Institute for Media Studies, co-chair of the Pulitzer Prize Committee, host of Politifact’s United Facts of America: a festival of fact-checking; formerly editor and vice-president of the Tampa Bay Times and of the Congressional Quarterly.

Lyrissa Lidsky, Erlich Chair in Constitutional Law, University of Florida Levin College of Law; a co-author of texts on Media Law and the First Amendment, commentator on threats of social media; former dean of the University of Missouri School of Law.

Alan Raul, head of Sidley & Austin’s Cybersecurity practice; vice-chair of White House Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board; Harvard Law lecturer on “Digital Governance: Privacy and Technology Tradeoffs”; former Associate Counsel to President Ronald Reagan.

Lubna Shuja, president of the Law Society of England and Wales (the first Asian and first Muslim to hold that position); given her current leadership position and cross-cultural background, Ms. Shuja will bring an international perspective to these important issues.

Moderator, Homer Moyer, Senior Counsel, Miller & Chevalier; former chair, IBA Rule of Law Forum; former General Counsel, U.S. Department of Commerce; founder, CEELI Institute, a post-graduate rule of law training center in Prague.

Moderator, Stephen Denyer, Director of Strategic Relationships at The Law Society of England and Wales, Co-Chair of the Rule of Law Forum, member of the IBA Nominations Committee and of the Advisory Board of the IBA Women Lawyers Committee.