The book will be available for purchase in the webshop from mid-November.

A critical assessment of why today’s information ecosystems are troubling for democracy, this book, based on research in the Global North and Global Majority World, examines changes in news media, artificial intelligence, and data governance. It focuses on measures to improve the quality of public discourse, protect media freedoms, and ensure the resilience of public institutions. The analysis highlights policies aimed at enhancing the accountability and resilience of information ecosystems in the face of the increasing weaponisation of information. 

Of interest to academics, policymakers, business, and civil society, the book showcases worldwide efforts to tackle Big Tech data extractive and monetisation practices, address news media instability, and ensure artificial intelligence applications are compatible with democratic values. This book is essential reading for everyone seeking to reimagine what justice in a datafied world could be.

Contents

• Preface
• Foreword
• List of tables and figures
• Chapter 1. Information ecosystems and democracy
• Introduction
• Information ecosystems and the public sphere
• Platformisation, datafication, and democracy
• Information integrity and mis- and disinformation
  • Defining mis- and disinformation
  • Measuring mis- and disinformation
  • Human rights and governing information ecosystems
• Scope and limitations
• Conclusion
• Chapter 2. News media, information integrity, and the public sphere
• Introduction
• Defining “news”
• News media, the public sphere, and democracy
• News media industry structure and platform dependency
• Trust in news media
  • Evidence of declining individual trust in news
    • Models and concepts of media effects
    • Relational models of media engagement
  • Changing journalism standards and news media practices
  • News media use, news avoidance, and resilience
    • News media avoidance
    • The weaponisation of online information
• Mis- and disinformation, political polarisation, and public opinion
• Strengthening trust and resilience to mis- and disinformation
• Conclusion
• Chapter 3. Artificial intelligence, information ecosystems, and democracy
• Introduction
• Defining AI
• AI systems and human rights
  • Algorithmic bias and fairness
  • Freedom of expression and information
  • Privacy protection
  • Democracy and participatory rights
• AI systems and content governance
  • AI systems in content generation
  • AI systems in content moderation and curation
    • AI systems and news media
    • Use of generative AI by mis- and disinformation actors
• AI systems and democracy
• Conclusion
• Chapter 4. Big Tech power and data governance
• Introduction
• Information ecosystem contestations
• Corporate data monopolisation and digital infrastructures
  • Data monopolisation and data dependency
  • Business models, knowledge, and mis- and disinformation
    • Big Tech monopolisation of data and AI system biases
    • Monopolising knowledge by foreclosing access to information
    • Research independence and verifiable knowledge
• Data governance, data justice, and democratic deliberation
  • Corporate power and lobbying
  • Towards data justice
• Conclusion
• Chapter 5. Governing information ecosystems
• Introduction
• Varieties of information ecosystems governance
• Governing principles and legislation
  • Governing network infrastructure
  • Governing digital platforms
  • Governing news media
  • Governing AI systems
  • Privacy and data governance
• Governing mis- and disinformation
• Safely navigating information ecosystems
  • Media and information literacy
  • AI literacy
• Conclusion
• Chapter 6. Governing information ecosystems in practice
• Introduction
• Awareness of mis- and disinformation
  • Public awareness of risks and harms
  • Understanding automated content moderation
  • Policymaker understanding of AI systems and platforms
• Measures to combat mis- and disinformation
  • Public information and fact-checking
  • Government action: Legislation and codes of practice
  • Platform action to address mis- and disinformation
• Alternative data governance practices
  • Epistemic privileging and data justice
  • Resistance to corporate datafication strategies
    • Individual digital self-defence strategies
    • Public interest alternative news media
    • Community collaborative strategies
    • Social entrepreneurs and community-controlled technologies
    • National-level decentralised data governance frameworks
    • Civil society organisations, researchers, and philanthropic organisations
• Conclusion
• Chapter 7. Conclusion: Information ecosystems and troubled democracy
• Introduction
• Epistemic difference and inequities
  • Conceptual framings, research designs, and methodologies
  • Research design and methods
• Future research priorities
  • Datafication-for-profit business models
  • Governing information ecosystems
    • The infrastructure layer
    • News media and trust
    • AI systems and content governance
    • Literacy and informed publics
  • Governing democratically: Towards data justice
• Conclusion