In The Loop, Half-year edition 2024
10 minutes read | First published: July 4, 2024
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OUR LATEST NEWS 🚀
🤖 A new creative intervention addressing AI's societal challenges
Introducing "Information Literacy for Societal Resilience," a new project exploring AI's impact on media production, distribution, and perception. The exhibition will feature engaging resources and practical tips for navigating these issues online. This initiative is produced by Tactical Tech and DensityDesign Lab at Politecnico di Milano in collaboration with the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions -IFLA and supported by the European Media and Information Fund. Find out more.
📬 A newsletter dedicated to collaborative and investigative journalism
"The Link" is the new quarterly newsletter by the Collaborative and Investigative Journalism Initiative -CIJI tailored for journalists and media professionals engaged in collaborative and investigative journalism. Subscribe now to receive notifications on new releases, open calls, opportunities, and curated resources and tools essential for your work. Sign up now..
🌟 A playful methodology that boosts teen’s participation in democracy
How to foster teenager’s participation in everyday democracy? Tactical Tech coordinated nine Critical ChangeLabs in partnership with nine European organisations working with youth. Through these labs, more than 100 teenagers were invited to explore how digital influence can shape their participation in everyday democracy and to imagine alternative futures that better suit them. Find out more about this experience.
OPEN CALLS 📢
[JOB OPPORTUNITY 🤓] OCCRP is seeking an experienced security analyst. DEADLINE: JULY 31, 2024.
Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project is looking for an experienced security analyst to join their team. This role suits someone who enjoys the technical side of information security analysis and providing guidance to others. Apply.
[JOIN NETWORK 🤝] Join the Climate Peer Network from The Solutions Journalism Network.Ongoing.
The Solutions Journalism Network launched a community of practice in July 2023 for journalists who want to learn from and support one another in reporting on the climate crisis through a solutions lens. This peer network is an open space for members to discuss challenges and opportunities and share best practices in climate solutions journalism. More information.
EVENTS THAT EMPOWER YOU 💡
[ONLINE EVENT 💻] The Digital Influence Industry in Brazilian Election Campaigns. July 10, 2024, 10:00 BRT. In English and Portuguese.
In Brazil, elections and democracy are increasingly influenced by digital tactics employed by technology firms and social media platforms. Ahead of the 2024 municipal elections, this session by Tactical Tech delves into emerging trends in digital influence strategies in Brazil. It examines the necessary accountability measures for tech firms, platforms, and political groups and seeks to understand the motivations behind their use of these tools in shaping public opinion and electoral outcomes. Register here
[WORKSHOP 🛠️] Join the workshop on fundraising strategies for critical media literacy projects. July 11, 2024, 16:00 CEST.
Participants of this last session of our "What the Future Wants: Digital Literacy for Youth Workshop Series" will learn how to map the fundraising landscape for opportunities and draft successful proposals. Discover tips for building donor relationships, aligning goals with funders' expectations, and exploring non-traditional funding sources. Reserve your spot now.
[FORUM 🌐] Join the “Anatomy of Influence” Forum - Unveiling Global Impact in the Digital Era. July 24-25. Hybrid event.
Join this hybrid forum to explore how digital influence impacts our lives and how we can respond effectively. This event will ignite conversations on democratizing content creation, combating disinformation, and the role of influencers in foreign policy and crisis communication. Amber Macintyre from Tactical Tech's Influence Industry Project will join the conversation on virtual presence and global impact. Learn more and register here.
[AWARDS 🏆] Mozilla Rise25 Awards will be celebrated in Dublin!
One year ago, our Executive Director and co-founder, Marek Tuszynski, was recognised by Mozilla's Rise 25 Awards as one of the artists and visionary leaders actively shaping a more ethical, responsible, and inclusive future for the internet. This year's honorees, who are shaping the future of AI for the good of people everywhere, have been announced and will be honoured at an event in Dublin. More information.
[FORUM 🌐] Registration for Imedd International Journalism Forum 2024 is open! September 26-28. Athens, Greece.
Join this global event on the state of Press Freedom in Europe, the role of artificial intelligence in investigative journalism, algorithmic accountability and innovative sustainability schemes encouraging media independence. This year, special highlights include The UNCOVERED Conference 2024 and the European Press Prize Community Event. Register.
[CONFERENCE 🏟️] Hacking alienation. Migrant power, art & tech. September 21-22, 2024. Berlin, Germany & streaming.
The conference will encourage cross-sectoral discussions and tools for direct online and offline participation, reimagining migration beyond national boundaries. It will showcase how art and technology can empower individuals without citizenship rights affected by systemic alienation from war, political conflict, or other forms of oppression. Learn more.
OUR THE GLASSROOM: MISINFORMATION EXHIBITION EXHIBITION AROUND THE WORLD 🖼️
- THE GLASSROOM IN GRAZ, AUSTRIA. JULY 3 - NOVEMBER 3, 2024. The DigiDicExhibition "Call to Digital Self-Defense" uses art objects, interactive installations, as well as workshops, performances, artist talks, and lectures that serve as a manual on digital self-defence.More information.
- THE GLASSROOM IN KASSEL, GERMANY. UNTIL JULY 5, 2024. What happens when we rely increasingly on social media and the Internet as sources of information? The Glass Room Misinformation Edition explores misinformation, its spread and our role through clicks, likes and shares. Evangelische Kirche von Kurhessen-Waldeck Landeskirchenam (EKKW) hosts the exhibition at Haus der Kirche Kassel. More information.
TACTICAL TECH: TRAINING AND ADVANCING THE SKILLS OF COMMUNITIES WORLDWIDE 💡
Tactical Tech's team led conversations, hosted workshops and sessions, and participated in different spaces to advance knowledge and build the capacities of individuals and communities to understand and tackle the challenges brought by technology. These were the events where Tactical Tech was present last month:
🗳️ The Influencing Machine and its Masters by Marek Tuszynski, Tactical Tech's executive director. Recording video available.
In 2024, nearly 90 elections will impact democracy for 40% of the world's population. These elections test new methods of influencing citizens via technology platforms, social media, and AI (synthetic media, deepfakes, LLMs). Digital elections remain complex, with actors adapting commercial persuasion techniques to boost donations, attract supporters, suppress opponents, and activate voters. This session delivered at Re:publica 24 examines this influencing machine. What do we find? Watch now.
🌳 The untold story of the world's biggest private data set on the natural environment: AI and synthetic landscapes by tactical tech's co-founder Stephanie Hankey. Recording video available.
This talk delivered at Re:publica 24 explores Bayer's large-scale, private data collection on natural systems and farm workers worldwide and its use in climate change prediction and management. The talk critically examines private gain vs. public interest in using technology to address climate change, biodiversity, food security, and human health, highlighting the role of big business and industrial agriculture. Watch now.
👀 Influence happens, privacy matters: your data's journey.
Tactical Tech's Cassiane Cladis and Helderyse Rendall shared insights into using private data during elections. Participants learned how how data affects political decision-making and reflected on privacy rights, focusing on identity-related data risks. The workshop offered resources and steps to protect ourselves and our communities. Visit our Voter's Guide for more tips.
🇵🇾 The influence industry in Paraguay by tactical tech's communications manager Ana Salinas. Recording video available.
This online event addresses the growing influence of the political influence industry on digital electoral campaigns in Paraguay from 2021 to 2023. It also discusses increasing concerns about election manipulation through social media, the opacity of campaign financing, and the lack of adequate regulations for handling personal data for political purposes. Watch now.
🔒 From zero to security hero in one hour and fifteen minutes at Dataharvest, the European Investigative Journalism Conference.
Tactical Tech's Exposing the Invisible team conducted the session on digital safety and the journalists' urgency to safeguard themselves and their contacts. This session covered risk assessment, how security experts deem tools 'safe', and some of the basics, which helped demystify digital security and invited participants to take measures to safeguard their digital presence. Find out more.
MEET OUR PARTNERS WORLDWIDE 💫
CITE – Centre for Innovation & Technology: empowering citizen journalists and civil society organizations to tell stories that matter safely
Meet CITE, an online media organization based in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. CITE creates a space for young people, journalists, creatives, and techies to interact with technology, use art to empower citizens, promote access to information, and mentor professionals. In partnership with Tactical Tech, CITE delivered workshops for 45 participants, including citizen journalists and civil society organizations, equipping them with skills in identifying information disorders, encryption methods, and secure communication channels.
This training helped them maintain confidentiality and avoid online threats. Given Zimbabwe's history of media censorship, the workshops enable content creators to bypass online censorship and surveillance, promoting freedom of expression. During election periods, participants learned to identify secure websites for accurate information dissemination. Find out more.
HALF-YEAR HIGHLIGHTS: A LOOK BACK AT JANUARY TO JUNE 📅
🏠 Tactical Tech moved to a new space at Publix, the home of media and non-profit organisations dedicated to democracy
We moved to our new home, a creative space in Neukölln, Berlin, from where we will continue working to build the capacity of communities to understand and mitigate the impacts of technology on society. Find out more about Publix and its resident organisations
🤖 We developed a new creative digital literacy intervention to engage teens in conversations about AI
Everywhere, All the Time, our latest digital literacy intervention provides resources and methods to foster critical conversations among teens about the impacts of technology and AI. It includes provocative exhibition posters, engaging activity cards, and a detailed educator's guidebook. Hundreds of partners are already using these resources. Interested? Contact us at youth@tacticaltech.org. More information.
🗳️ Inform, our new voter literacy resource centre that prepares you for 2024 elections went live
'INFORM' provides playful and reflective workshop curricula, stand-alone activities, and self-guided tools to engage voters in conversations about the role of digital technologies and personal data in shaping democratic participation and elections. Explore INFORM by Tactical Tech's Influence Industry Project to build your community's political agency now. Visit Inform
💡 Through our Exposing the Invisible project, we trained over 450 journalists
As part of the Collaborative and Investigative Journalism Initiative” (CIJI), Tactical Tech launched a Training of Trainers program, offering workshops to 45 journalists to enhance their facilitation skills, and an Online Talk series covering topics like geolocating images, verifying sources, investigating water pollution, and tracking disinformation, attracting 430 participants. Find out more about CIJI.
WHAT WE ARE READING 🔍
- [📰 ARTICLE] Planetary laboratory - The quest for knowledge requires a holistic perspective that brings together different disciplines and know-how. Go to source.
- [🖼️ VISUALISATION] Cartography of generative AI. Go to source.
- [📰 ARTICLE] Why media literacy matters now more than ever: Insights from the third African media convention held in Ghana. Go to source.
- [🖼️ VISUALISATION] How will your city feel in the future? Go to source.
- [📰 ARTICLE] Surveillance deputies: When ordinary people surveil for the state. Go to source.
- [📰 ARTICLE] Censorship and isolation as China bans thousands of mobile apps. Go to source.
- [📰 ARTICLE] Tiktok LLM - Tiktok's opaque censorship protocol has led to the development of euphemisms adopted offline too, but the language acquisition users are modeling has precedent. Go to source.
- [📰 ARTICLE] A.I. and the Future of Visual Storytelling - Reflections on Michael Christopher Brown's 90 Miles. Go to source.
- [📰 ARTICLE] Forget Deepfakes: Social Listening Might be the Most Consequential Use of Generative AI in Politics. Go to source.
- [📰 ARTICLE] What a right-wing shift in the EU Parliament means for tech policy. Go to source.
- [📊 DATA BASE] The AI Incident Database is dedicated to indexing the collective history of harms or near harms realized in the real world by the deployment of artificial intelligence systems. Go to source.
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