Ben Nimmo’s research at the Digital Forensics lab at the Atlantic council explores how disinformation is spread, what form it takes and what its motivations are. At the recent Contentious Narratives conference at GW’s Elliot School of International Affairs, Ben outlined the best examples he has encountered which combat disinformation.

The majority of disinformation is often poorly constructed and executed, Ben outlines – which in turn means some of the best tools available to combat it are also simple. Amnesty International in Iraq have produced an online tool that allows users to determine the date of a video, so as to avoid footage misleading communities about when an atrocity took place.

The simplicity of methods such as these on ICT platforms enable all individuals, not just journalists and mediators, to identify disinformation being spread. Ben also points out how these ICT methods serve as the Launchpad for educating populations about the existence of disinformation and how they can prevent it from influencing events in the future.

Whenever a new communications platform is developed, disinformation inevitably appears, Ben outlines. This disinformation moment is no different, expect in one regard – that new tools are appearing far more rapidly. These upstart platforms will need to just as rapidly find ways to police themselves.