Fighting False News: Strategies to Combat Digital Misinformation

Increasingly, the public doesn’t know whom to trust, as politicians discredit traditional media, influencers give credence to false rumors and our own friends and family unknowingly spread untruths. Incorrect information can damage brands, complicate natural disasters and even sway elections. This session will provide valuable insights and key strategies every communicator should know when it comes to false information online, including how corporations, nonprofits and governments are fighting back.
Agenda
9:30 a.m. Doors Open10:00 a.m. Panel Begins11:30 a.m. Panel Adjourns
About the Speakers
Anthony ShopCo-Founder & Chief Strategy Officer, Social DriverChairman, National Digital Roundtable
Anthony Shop is the Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Social Driver, a leading digital agency that helps companies connect with people today. In addition to the company's various awards, Anthony was named a Financial Times OUTstanding Future Leader and Washington Business Journal "40 Under 40" honoree.
In 2018, Anthony was awarded an Eisenhower Fellowship to study trends in digital and social media in China, where he recently spent a month. Communication University in China appointed him to the position of Senior Research Fellow. He is an adjunct lecturer at The George Washington University School of Business, where earned his MBA and won first place in the GW New Venture Competition. He also serves on the board of Global Ties Foundation.
Monica EnqvistHead of Public Diplomacy, Press and Communications, Embassy of Sweden
Monica Enqvist is the Head of Public Diplomacy, Press and Communications at the Embassy of Sweden in Washington DC. Before taking up her current position in September 2014, she was Press Secretary at the Office of the Minister for Trade. Ms Enqvist worked with Sweden’s Minister for Trade since 2009 and was responsible for all press and communication issues. Before starting at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Stockholm Ms Enqvist worked as a journalist and news anchor.
 

 
 
Barbara McCormackVice President of Education, Freedom Forum
Barbara McCormack is vice president of education at the Freedom Forum Institute. McCormack leads the team responsible for creating NewseumED: quality, educational resources and programs on First Amendment freedoms and media literacy. Through on-site and virtual classes and its website, NewseumED reaches 10 million students.
McCormack is a sought-after speaker on media literacy education, navigating the challenges of a free press, and facilitating difficult classroom conversations. In 2017, she was invited to provide media literacy training for students and adults nationally and internationally, including for the Senate Youth Leadership Program, winners of the Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship Program Award (Poland), Chautauqua Institution, MisinfoCon (England) and Reuters. She led workshops at conferences by the American Alliance of Museums, National Council for the Social Studies and National Association of Media Literacy Education.
Alina PolyakovaDavid M. Rubenstein Fellow for Foreign Policy, Brookings Institution's Center on the United States and Europe
Dr. Alina Polyakova is the David M. Rubenstein Fellow for foreign policy at the Brookings Institution’s Center on the United States and Europe and Adjunct Professor of European studies at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University.
Polyakova is a recognized expert on European populism and Russian foreign policy and political warfare. She is the author of the 2015 book, The Dark Side of European Integration, which examines the role of national identity and the rise of far-right political parties in Europe. Polyakova has written extensively on Russia and Europe in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Foreign Affairs, The Wall Street Journal and is a frequent commentator on Fox News, CNN, BBC and elsewhere.
A former Fulbright scholar, Polyakova previously served as Director of Research and Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council and as a Senior Research Fellow and Professor at the University of Bern, Switzerland, and has held prestigious fellowships from the National Science Foundation. She holds a doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley.
Lauren Lawson-ZilaiSenior Director, Public Relations, Goodwill Industries International
Lauren Lawson-Zilai is an external communications executive for Goodwill Industries International, a social enterprise that provides job training, career services, such as credentials and certifications, and support services such as child care, financial education, youth mentoring and transportation to nearly 39 million people a year, through the revenue from the sale of donated clothes and household goods. As spokesperson for Goodwill®, she has been quoted frequently in the media including, the Associated Press, Chronicle of Philanthropy, MarketWatch Radio, The New York Times, The NonProfit Times, and USA TODAY. Lawson-Zilai is a graduate of Goodwill’s Senior Leader Program and holds a certificate in nonprofit board education from BoardSource.
Lawson-Zilai is the recipient of the PR News’ PR Professional of the Year: Association/Nonprofit category, PR News’ Top Women in PR and the Public Relations Society of America – National Capital Chapter’s Diamond Award, in recognition of outstanding service to the chapter. Lawson-Zilai is also a Washington Women in Public Relations’ PR Woman of the Year honoree. Lawson-Zilai currently serves as a vice president on the Public Relations Society of America – National Capital Chapter (PRSA-NCC) board where she is the Hall of Fame Chair and is the liaison to the pro bono committee. She also is a member of the advisory council for Washington Women in Public Relations (WWPR), of which she is a former president and the founder of the organization’s Emerging Leaders Awards.
 
Special Thanks
Special thanks to our Event Partners:
Newseum and Freedom Forum
Public Relations Society of American - National Capital Chapter
International Association of Business Communicators DC Metro
Washingon Women in PR