Subject: Re: Holding an event on disinformation
From: Karen Stegman
Date: 3/11/21, 9:42 PM
To: Martin Johnson 

Sender: kstegman@townofchapelhill.org
Subject: Re: Holding an event on disinformation
Message-Id: <DM8PR09MB6150C83AFB73977FC504E274BB6F9@DM8PR09MB6150.namprd09.prod.outlook.com>
To: martinlouisjohnson@gmail.com

Subject: Re: Holding an event on disinformation
From: Karen Stegman <kstegman@townofchapelhill.org>
Date: 3/11/21, 9:42 PM
To: Martin Johnson <martinlouisjohnson@gmail.com>

Hi Martin,

Thanks for following up. It was great to chat the other night and hear more about your thoughts about our town's future. Definitely would like to stay in touch on many of the topics we touched on. 

I agree that an event focused on mis/dis-information would be very timely. Between 1200 MLK, the Aura plan, and the STR regs, it seems the anonymous "astroturf" approach is growing in popularity. I have gotten several calls and emails this week from folks concerned about anonymous flyers left at their homes re. MLK and Aura. And then there is the cesspool that is Next Door. 1200 MLK really is a useful case study in "outrage porn" - really surprising how willing people were to react with intense anger based on minimal information from unknown and/or anonymous sources. I really like the idea of focusing on the local level while framing it within the context of global and national trends. A mix of reps from academic, news, politics, and advocacy groups would be a good mix and focusing on how to access information in this era of limited reliable news sources. 

Best,
Karen

Karen J. Stegman

Council Member

Town of Chapel Hill

405 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

Chapel Hill, NC 27514-5705 

Phone: (919) 824-5197




From: Martin Johnson <martinlouisjohnson@gmail.com>
Sent: Friday, March 5, 2021 8:09 AM
To: Karen Stegman <kstegman@townofchapelhill.org>
Subject: Holding an event on disinformation
 

External email: Don't click links or attachments from unknown senders. To check or report forward to reportspam@townofchapelhill.org

Dear Karen,

Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with me yesterday. While I want to keep in touch on many things, I would like to explore the possibility of holding a public conversation on mis- and disinformation. As I mentioned, UNC recently established a center on information, technology, and public life:


and they've already addressed local news as one area that's threatened by disinformation campaigns. 


If members of the council, and other local government officials, would be interested in attending and/or participating, I think I could convince one of the researchers affiliated with this center to participate. We might also be able to bring in a local reporter as well.

I am open on the question of how to set up the event. Perhaps it could open with a short presentation about what mis/disinformation is, and we could hear from a researcher about how communities have successfully fought to limit its reach, and how citizens should assess information. We could then open up the conversation to include elected officials and local reporters (or maybe we want the reporters to write about the story). 

Let me know how we should proceed. 

Best,

Martin