Democracy

Social media and other emerging technologies are reshaping democracies, elections, and governance worldwide. These technologies can provide platforms for diverse voices to engage in political and social discourse, but are also built upon algorithmic systems that encourage the spread of disinformation and other content that seeks to manipulate public opinion, undermine trust in institutions, and contribute to polarization and violence. Social media platforms have taken action to address some of these issues, including measures to remove or reduce the virality of harmful information and other content that violates community standards. However, industry self-regulation alone is insufficient to preserve democracy around the world, and policymakers can take steps to build a more robust and diverse information ecosystem as well as develop governance structures that can mitigate the worst harms while preserving freedom of speech.