Inform: A voter literacy resource center for navigating online political influence and digital election campaigns
3 minutes read | First published: April 11, 2024
Introducing Inform: A voter literacy resource center designed to empower voters, educators, facilitators, and organisations involved in voter education to explore the ways digital and data-driven technologies play a key role in political campaigns and elections.
In a world where technology shapes every aspect of our lives, understanding its influence on democratic processes and elections has never been more crucial. This holds particular relevance in a year when over 60 elections are scheduled across the globe, defining the future of millions of people worldwide. But how can voters engage in discussions about the impacts of digital and data-driven technologies on political campaigns and elections?
Introducing Inform: A voter literacy resource center designed to empower voters, educators, facilitators, and organisations involved in voter education to explore the ways digital and data-driven technologies play a key role in political campaigns and elections. The Inform: A voter literacy resource center offers customisable workshop curricula and activities that can be tailored to the specific audience’s needs to spark conversations, create spaces for debate and develop the skills of facilitators and voters, including:
Discover the Inform: A voter literacy resource center
- 🔊➡️The Voter’s Guide Workshop: a comprehensive plan and workshop curriculum to support participants in learning about the foundations of digital and political influence.Explore
- 🔊➡️ Workshop Slides that offer visuals and text to the participants.Explore
- 🔊➡️ Stand-alone activities centred on engaging voters playfully on digital and political influence.Explore
The Inform: A voter literacy resource center also includes a selection of resources that voters can use, such as our playful online personality test, which demonstrates how targeted ads might work, explanatory videos such as “Your Data, Our Democracy”, and a practical how-to for voters, the Data Detox Kit’s A Voter’s Guide.
Through the journey, voters who access the resources or who participate in the workshops facilitated using the materials will:
Stay Informed:
- Knowledge is power! By understanding the tools and methods used in the influence industry and broad data collection, voters will be better prepared to engage with these topics or recognize their own knowledge gaps for further exploration.
- Those interested in delving deeper into these topics will have a starting point of key terms, introductory materials, and resources to enhance their political agency and digital protection.
Take Action:
- Participants will be able to extend their knowledge into personal and political action.
- Actions can involve community engagement, reflective and thoughtful interaction with online advertisements, or protective security on digital devices.
Express Voter Opinions:
- Given the evolving nature of these themes, technologies, and power dynamics, technology users should approach discussions in an open, safe, and informed manner.
- Discussing politics may be challenging for some, and these resources offer playful, private, and expressive forms to develop a personal understanding of political systems, which is essential for active citizenship.