The Disinformation Action Lab (DAL) at Data & Society forges new approaches to address the complex dynamics underpinning the spread of propaganda and disinformation. Last publication December 2020.

The DAL works in concert with a range of partners in the research, industry, and civil society communities. Our first two pilot projects are designed to operate as collaborative experiments in order to find innovative solutions to complex problems: PILOT #1: DATA INTEGRITY PROJECT The Data Integrity Project at DAL improves feedback loops about adversarial actors who are strategically deploying disinformation with the intention of attacking longstanding civil society institutions. Collaborations between core stakeholders and tech companies include: analysis of historical query data; consultations with civil society groups on how to leverage platforms for messaging; and the ongoing interpretation of data produced by those seeking to undermine these institutions. PILOT #2: FILLING DATA VOIDS Through humor and redirection, this experiment seeks to offer alternative paths for those who end up in darker places on the internet. Data Voids brings together artists, comedians, developers, and journalists to explore fun and tactical ways to fill data voids; a term used by search companies to indicate a query that is 1) not run very often, 2) has little legitimate content associated with it, and/or 3) produces an intentionally manipulative autocomplete response.