Imagine: the world is gripped by a global health crisis caused by a mysterious virus spreading death and devastating communities. As scientists struggle to find a treatment, disinformation proves as infectious as the virus. National governments refuse to work together, cover up key information, marginalize affected communities, and contradict themselves, each other and science.

Disinformation is a global challenge. It’s inflicting damage in many spheres of our lives. Perhaps most alarming is that it’s threatening democracy worldwide. People need access to reliable, authentic information to exercise their democratic rights and responsibilities. Good information is the oxygen of a thriving democracy. It is key to transparent government, and vital for citizens’ ability to hold governments to account. 

Over half the world is now online. In this increasingly digital age, connected citizens expect to be able to engage with their democratic leaders the same way they talk to each other, do their shopping, and gather information: on the internet. However, critical political and civic institutions are often far behind the curve. Governments and civil society organizations have been slow to adopt digital tools to gather and analyze data, track information about their supporters, or contact citizens on their ever-present phones.

Supported by NDI and more than a dozen other international partners, the Design 4 Democracy Coalition held its first Advisory Board meeting on October 25th, in conjunction with MisinfoCon London and Mozilla Fest (MozFest).

NDI continues to expand its efforts at the intersection of tech and democracy in response to the growing, global challenges of disinformation and cyberattacks against political parties and democracy organizations. Over the coming months, NDI will be rolling out a number of new initiatives to promote the integrity of information in politics and to support the civic tech community.