UBC Centre for the Study of Democratic Institutions
@ubcdemocracy.bsky.social
Understanding the past. Analyzing the present. Training for the future.
Pinned
Municipal Matters: Building Capacity for Local Climate Conversations - Centre for the Study of Democratic Institutions
This report examines the challenges of communication around local climate action
democracy.ubc.ca
Local governments play a key role in climate action—but today’s complex info landscape makes it harder to develop and implement effective policies. 🌍🏙️🪴
CSDI’s new report, “𝐌𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐚𝐥 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬” explores the path forward.
🔗 𝑭𝒖𝒍𝒍 𝑹𝒆𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕: democracy.ubc.ca/featured/mun...
CSDI’s new report, “𝐌𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐚𝐥 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬” explores the path forward.
🔗 𝑭𝒖𝒍𝒍 𝑹𝒆𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕: democracy.ubc.ca/featured/mun...
Want to learn how to best turn climate policy discussions into climate action? Join CSDI and the UBC Sustainability Hub on November 18th for a practical workshop on policy communications, with focus on writing op-eds.
Details and registration ⬇️
www.eventbrite.ca/e/effective-...
Details and registration ⬇️
www.eventbrite.ca/e/effective-...
Effective Climate Communications: A Practical Workshop
An introduction to policy communications, with focus on the op-ed.
www.eventbrite.ca
November 13, 2025 at 11:02 PM
Want to learn how to best turn climate policy discussions into climate action? Join CSDI and the UBC Sustainability Hub on November 18th for a practical workshop on policy communications, with focus on writing op-eds.
Details and registration ⬇️
www.eventbrite.ca/e/effective-...
Details and registration ⬇️
www.eventbrite.ca/e/effective-...
⚠️On September 10, the CSDI and the Electoral Integrity Project co-hosted the Technology and the Future of Democracy conference – bringing together over 80 attendees from academia, civil society, and policy practice.
🧵Read more below!
democracy.ubc.ca/news/technol...
democracy.ubc.ca/news/stress-...
🧵Read more below!
democracy.ubc.ca/news/technol...
democracy.ubc.ca/news/stress-...
UBC
democracy.ubc.ca
October 24, 2025 at 8:44 PM
⚠️On September 10, the CSDI and the Electoral Integrity Project co-hosted the Technology and the Future of Democracy conference – bringing together over 80 attendees from academia, civil society, and policy practice.
🧵Read more below!
democracy.ubc.ca/news/technol...
democracy.ubc.ca/news/stress-...
🧵Read more below!
democracy.ubc.ca/news/technol...
democracy.ubc.ca/news/stress-...
"Policymakers must ensure human judgement - not algorithms - remains central in life-and-death decisions".
💭 CSDI's Nishtha Gupta explores the implications of AI adoption for Canada's defence strategy in @policyoptions.irpp.org.
🧵https://policyoptions.irpp.org/2025/09/ai-defence-spending/
💭 CSDI's Nishtha Gupta explores the implications of AI adoption for Canada's defence strategy in @policyoptions.irpp.org.
🧵https://policyoptions.irpp.org/2025/09/ai-defence-spending/
Canada’s defence spending surge must set limits on AI weapons
Canada’s defence spending surge and AI strategy must keep humans in command of weapons, not AI.
policyoptions.irpp.org
October 9, 2025 at 11:10 PM
"Policymakers must ensure human judgement - not algorithms - remains central in life-and-death decisions".
💭 CSDI's Nishtha Gupta explores the implications of AI adoption for Canada's defence strategy in @policyoptions.irpp.org.
🧵https://policyoptions.irpp.org/2025/09/ai-defence-spending/
💭 CSDI's Nishtha Gupta explores the implications of AI adoption for Canada's defence strategy in @policyoptions.irpp.org.
🧵https://policyoptions.irpp.org/2025/09/ai-defence-spending/
@heiditworek.bsky.social discusses the undulation of communication technologies and their ability to both attract and oppose the energy of globalization in @globaldiscnct.bsky.social's recent volume.
Find Heidi's chapter and the entire open-access collection: www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...
Find Heidi's chapter and the entire open-access collection: www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...
Dis:connectivity and Globalisation
Globalisation is one of the most contested concepts of our time. From its promise of borderless flows of people, goods, and finance in the 1990s, it embodies today almost the opposite: deglobalisation...
www.degruyterbrill.com
September 24, 2025 at 5:40 PM
@heiditworek.bsky.social discusses the undulation of communication technologies and their ability to both attract and oppose the energy of globalization in @globaldiscnct.bsky.social's recent volume.
Find Heidi's chapter and the entire open-access collection: www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...
Find Heidi's chapter and the entire open-access collection: www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...
🎧 Looking for a great audio interview?
CSDI Director @heiditworek.bsky.social spoke to KKFI Radio about the modern communication landscape, what we can learn from media trends of the past, and much more. kkfi.org/program-epis...
CSDI Director @heiditworek.bsky.social spoke to KKFI Radio about the modern communication landscape, what we can learn from media trends of the past, and much more. kkfi.org/program-epis...
News from Germany 1900-1945 and implications for today • KKFI
University of British Columbia history professor Heidi J.S. Tworek1 discusses her research on the impact of the media on politics in Germany focusing especially in 1900 through 1945 and its […]
kkfi.org
September 15, 2025 at 8:32 PM
🎧 Looking for a great audio interview?
CSDI Director @heiditworek.bsky.social spoke to KKFI Radio about the modern communication landscape, what we can learn from media trends of the past, and much more. kkfi.org/program-epis...
CSDI Director @heiditworek.bsky.social spoke to KKFI Radio about the modern communication landscape, what we can learn from media trends of the past, and much more. kkfi.org/program-epis...
We are delighted to welcome our @apsa.bsky.social colleagues to Vancouver this week! Today, CSDI is co-convening a pre-APSA conference on Technology and the Future of Democracy, including tabletop exercises simulating election threats and responses. www.electoralintegrityproject.com/vancouver-20...
2025 Vancouver Pre-APSA — The Electoral Integrity Project EIP
www.electoralintegrityproject.com
September 10, 2025 at 4:33 PM
We are delighted to welcome our @apsa.bsky.social colleagues to Vancouver this week! Today, CSDI is co-convening a pre-APSA conference on Technology and the Future of Democracy, including tabletop exercises simulating election threats and responses. www.electoralintegrityproject.com/vancouver-20...
CSDI is thrilled to announce the publication of our collaborative research with @meo-cdmrn.bsky.social studying the B.C. information environment during the 2024 provincial election! Read the full report ⬇️
meo.ca/work/british...
meo.ca/work/british...
British Columbia Election Information Ecosystem Project — Media Ecosystem Observatory
August 2025 — The British Columbia Election Information Ecosystem Project set out to evaluate the dynamics of mis- and disinformation, media platform influence, foreign interference concerns, and publ...
meo.ca
September 9, 2025 at 5:08 PM
CSDI is thrilled to announce the publication of our collaborative research with @meo-cdmrn.bsky.social studying the B.C. information environment during the 2024 provincial election! Read the full report ⬇️
meo.ca/work/british...
meo.ca/work/british...
Reposted by UBC Centre for the Study of Democratic Institutions
Dr. Chris Tenove (@cjten.bsky.social @ubcdemocracy.bsky.social) said the Trump administration is a "major counterforce" in international efforts to regulate online harm.
via @cdnpress.bsky.social
via @cdnpress.bsky.social
AI chatbots changing online threat landscape as Ottawa reviews legislation
OTTAWA - Wrongful death lawsuits citing the activities of artificial intelligence chatbots are underway in the United States, as reports emerge of mental health issues and delusions induced by AI
www.thecanadianpressnews.ca
September 3, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Dr. Chris Tenove (@cjten.bsky.social @ubcdemocracy.bsky.social) said the Trump administration is a "major counterforce" in international efforts to regulate online harm.
via @cdnpress.bsky.social
via @cdnpress.bsky.social
Congratulations to @marcozenone.bsky.social on joining the @uottawa.ca as an Assistant Professor. His scholarship greatly enriched CSDI’s work, and we thank him for being a valued member of our community. Looking forward to future collaborations and to more of his great research!
September 3, 2025 at 6:43 PM
Congratulations to @marcozenone.bsky.social on joining the @uottawa.ca as an Assistant Professor. His scholarship greatly enriched CSDI’s work, and we thank him for being a valued member of our community. Looking forward to future collaborations and to more of his great research!
Loneliness is a serious public health issue that has worsened amongst young people. CSDI Postdoctoral Fellow @marcozenone.bsky.social's recent research analyzes the role TikTok plays as a forum for expressing loneliness and how modern isolation is portrayed online. academic.oup.com/heapro/artic...
Feeling lonely in the online crowd: what TikTok tells us about young people and loneliness
Abstract. Loneliness is a pressing public health issue, with young people particularly affected. Given the widespread use of TikTok among younger demograph
academic.oup.com
August 13, 2025 at 5:35 PM
Loneliness is a serious public health issue that has worsened amongst young people. CSDI Postdoctoral Fellow @marcozenone.bsky.social's recent research analyzes the role TikTok plays as a forum for expressing loneliness and how modern isolation is portrayed online. academic.oup.com/heapro/artic...
Reposted by UBC Centre for the Study of Democratic Institutions
Google says AI Overviews “highlight the web” rather than replace it. But Cameron Pattison, Vance Ricks & John P. Wihbey see potentially profound political, social, and economic impacts. It's an open question if AI-powered search will be a tool for enlightenment or a mechanism for epistemic capture.
How AI-Driven Search May Reshape Democracy, Economics, and Human Agency | TechPolicy.Press
Cameron Pattison, Vance Ricks, and John P. Wihbey see differences in kind, as well as in degree, from the pre-generative model-based online search environment.
www.techpolicy.press
August 11, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Google says AI Overviews “highlight the web” rather than replace it. But Cameron Pattison, Vance Ricks & John P. Wihbey see potentially profound political, social, and economic impacts. It's an open question if AI-powered search will be a tool for enlightenment or a mechanism for epistemic capture.
🎉Congratulations to CSDI Director @heiditworek.bsky.social, who was recently elected as a fellow of the @royalhistsoc.org! RHS is an international community of historians working to promote an understanding of history.
👏We're proud of Heidi and her ongoing advocacy!
🔗Learn more: royalhistsoc.org
👏We're proud of Heidi and her ongoing advocacy!
🔗Learn more: royalhistsoc.org
The Royal Historical Society
The foremost society in the UK working with professional historians and advancing the scholarly study of the past. Working for history and historians.
royalhistsoc.org
July 31, 2025 at 11:17 PM
🎉Congratulations to CSDI Director @heiditworek.bsky.social, who was recently elected as a fellow of the @royalhistsoc.org! RHS is an international community of historians working to promote an understanding of history.
👏We're proud of Heidi and her ongoing advocacy!
🔗Learn more: royalhistsoc.org
👏We're proud of Heidi and her ongoing advocacy!
🔗Learn more: royalhistsoc.org
⚠️@heiditworek.bsky.social and @cjten.bsky.social recently presented to the BC Special Committee on Democratic and Electoral Reform - using research from collaboration with @meo-cdmrn.bsky.social. @maxcameron.bsky.social, former CSDI Director, also testified.
🔗See more: www.leg.bc.ca/parliamentar...
🔗See more: www.leg.bc.ca/parliamentar...
July 28, 2025 at 8:06 PM
⚠️@heiditworek.bsky.social and @cjten.bsky.social recently presented to the BC Special Committee on Democratic and Electoral Reform - using research from collaboration with @meo-cdmrn.bsky.social. @maxcameron.bsky.social, former CSDI Director, also testified.
🔗See more: www.leg.bc.ca/parliamentar...
🔗See more: www.leg.bc.ca/parliamentar...
Research Assistant Spotlight: Social media manipulation has become a recurring concern in modern elections. Former CSDI research assistant Milan Wiertz discusses where this trend could lead in @techpolicypress.bsky.social www.techpolicy.press/online-elect...
Online Election Manipulation Is a Challenge for Democracy. It’s About to Get a Whole Lot Worse. | TechPolicy.Press
Claims by platforms that they could self-regulate were never credible; now, they lie in tatters, writes Milan Wiertz.
www.techpolicy.press
July 22, 2025 at 9:38 PM
Research Assistant Spotlight: Social media manipulation has become a recurring concern in modern elections. Former CSDI research assistant Milan Wiertz discusses where this trend could lead in @techpolicypress.bsky.social www.techpolicy.press/online-elect...
@heiditworek.bsky.social features in a @financialtimes.com article breaking down the surge in online abuse of women business leaders and what can be done to address the special threat' from trolls online.
Read here: www.ft.com/content/3190...
Read here: www.ft.com/content/3190...
Women business leaders face surge in online abuse
The ‘special threat’ from male trolls online means it is essential to form a plan of action for when harassment starts
www.ft.com
July 18, 2025 at 6:50 PM
@heiditworek.bsky.social features in a @financialtimes.com article breaking down the surge in online abuse of women business leaders and what can be done to address the special threat' from trolls online.
Read here: www.ft.com/content/3190...
Read here: www.ft.com/content/3190...
Canada’s digital sovereignty (or lack thereof) is a growing concern. @heiditworek.bsky.social and @lageneralista.ca argue that to build an independent tech 'CanStack', policymakers need to start with a full assessment of the information ecosystem. www.cigionline.org/articles/how...
How to Confront Canada’s Digital Dependence
Even a cursory glance at Canada’s digital providers exposes substantial reliance on foreign firms.
www.cigionline.org
July 11, 2025 at 5:47 PM
Canada’s digital sovereignty (or lack thereof) is a growing concern. @heiditworek.bsky.social and @lageneralista.ca argue that to build an independent tech 'CanStack', policymakers need to start with a full assessment of the information ecosystem. www.cigionline.org/articles/how...
Learnings from the past are often the best way to understand the issues of the present.
Historian and CSDI Director @heiditworek.bsky.social discusses the not-so-novel nature of disinformation and how we can build trust in our current moment.
www.arts.ubc.ca/news/how-to-...
Historian and CSDI Director @heiditworek.bsky.social discusses the not-so-novel nature of disinformation and how we can build trust in our current moment.
www.arts.ubc.ca/news/how-to-...
How to fight disinformation, according to a historian of media - Faculty of Arts
Disinformation is nothing new. Here's how to fight it, according to Prof. Heidi Tworek, director of UBC's Centre for the Study of Democratic Institutions.
www.arts.ubc.ca
June 30, 2025 at 6:47 PM
Learnings from the past are often the best way to understand the issues of the present.
Historian and CSDI Director @heiditworek.bsky.social discusses the not-so-novel nature of disinformation and how we can build trust in our current moment.
www.arts.ubc.ca/news/how-to-...
Historian and CSDI Director @heiditworek.bsky.social discusses the not-so-novel nature of disinformation and how we can build trust in our current moment.
www.arts.ubc.ca/news/how-to-...
⚠️ Event Announcement!
Have People Stopped Listening to Expertise?
🔬Join Lars Thorup Larsen from @au.dk for a discussion about the erosion of trust in established science and what that might mean for liberal democracy.
✍️RSVP via QR code or at sppga.ubc.ca/events!
Have People Stopped Listening to Expertise?
🔬Join Lars Thorup Larsen from @au.dk for a discussion about the erosion of trust in established science and what that might mean for liberal democracy.
✍️RSVP via QR code or at sppga.ubc.ca/events!
June 27, 2025 at 10:30 PM
⚠️ Event Announcement!
Have People Stopped Listening to Expertise?
🔬Join Lars Thorup Larsen from @au.dk for a discussion about the erosion of trust in established science and what that might mean for liberal democracy.
✍️RSVP via QR code or at sppga.ubc.ca/events!
Have People Stopped Listening to Expertise?
🔬Join Lars Thorup Larsen from @au.dk for a discussion about the erosion of trust in established science and what that might mean for liberal democracy.
✍️RSVP via QR code or at sppga.ubc.ca/events!
⚠️How can policymakers and civil society combat climate disinformation and misinformation in our information ecosystems?
🌍International Panel on the Information Environment report on new global trends: www.ipie.info/research/sr2...
🇨🇦CSDI report on local approaches: democracy.ubc.ca/publications...
🌍International Panel on the Information Environment report on new global trends: www.ipie.info/research/sr2...
🇨🇦CSDI report on local approaches: democracy.ubc.ca/publications...
Information Integrity about Climate Science: A Systematic Review
Synthesis Report - Information Integrity about Climate Science: A Systematic Review
www.ipie.info
June 26, 2025 at 8:08 PM
⚠️How can policymakers and civil society combat climate disinformation and misinformation in our information ecosystems?
🌍International Panel on the Information Environment report on new global trends: www.ipie.info/research/sr2...
🇨🇦CSDI report on local approaches: democracy.ubc.ca/publications...
🌍International Panel on the Information Environment report on new global trends: www.ipie.info/research/sr2...
🇨🇦CSDI report on local approaches: democracy.ubc.ca/publications...
🇨🇦As Canada forges new AI policy, read the CSDI's 'Harmful Hallucinations: Generative AI and Elections' report to understand how AI challenges our elections and information systems.
🗞️Analysis by @Anja Karadeglija: www.stalbertgazette.com/science-news...
🔗Report: democracy.ubc.ca/publications...
🗞️Analysis by @Anja Karadeglija: www.stalbertgazette.com/science-news...
🔗Report: democracy.ubc.ca/publications...
New AI minister says Canada won’t ‘over-index’ on AI regulation
OTTAWA — Canada's new minister of artificial intelligence said Tuesday he'll put less emphasis on AI regulation and more on finding ways to harness the technology's economic benefits.
www.stalbertgazette.com
June 20, 2025 at 8:05 PM
🇨🇦As Canada forges new AI policy, read the CSDI's 'Harmful Hallucinations: Generative AI and Elections' report to understand how AI challenges our elections and information systems.
🗞️Analysis by @Anja Karadeglija: www.stalbertgazette.com/science-news...
🔗Report: democracy.ubc.ca/publications...
🗞️Analysis by @Anja Karadeglija: www.stalbertgazette.com/science-news...
🔗Report: democracy.ubc.ca/publications...
CSDI's @Marco Zenone and the University of Alberta's @ Alessandro Marcon highlight the dangerous increase of exploitative ads promoting alternative cancer treatments.
📖Learn more in the @ca.theconversation.com :
theconversation.com/google-searc...
📖Learn more in the @ca.theconversation.com :
theconversation.com/google-searc...
Google searches for information about cancer lead to targeted ads from alternative clinics
Alternative cancer clinics spent over an US$15 million on Google ad spaces, generating millions of website visits from people searching for cancer information.
theconversation.com
June 18, 2025 at 7:15 PM
CSDI's @Marco Zenone and the University of Alberta's @ Alessandro Marcon highlight the dangerous increase of exploitative ads promoting alternative cancer treatments.
📖Learn more in the @ca.theconversation.com :
theconversation.com/google-searc...
📖Learn more in the @ca.theconversation.com :
theconversation.com/google-searc...
Reposted by UBC Centre for the Study of Democratic Institutions
What’s weakening Canada’s information ecosystem, and what does it mean for our democracy? @abridgman.bsky.social presented new findings from @meo-cdmrn.bsky.social on disinformation, polarization, and media trust in the wake of the 2025 election.
June 11, 2025 at 10:01 PM
What’s weakening Canada’s information ecosystem, and what does it mean for our democracy? @abridgman.bsky.social presented new findings from @meo-cdmrn.bsky.social on disinformation, polarization, and media trust in the wake of the 2025 election.
CSDI looks forward to joining the Partnering in Research Conference and leading the 'Transformative Approaches to Protecting Researchers and Communities from Online Harassment' workshop on June 12th.
Read more about the session and the conference program:
communityengagement.ubc.ca/events/2025-...
Read more about the session and the conference program:
communityengagement.ubc.ca/events/2025-...
June 9, 2025 at 6:21 PM
CSDI looks forward to joining the Partnering in Research Conference and leading the 'Transformative Approaches to Protecting Researchers and Communities from Online Harassment' workshop on June 12th.
Read more about the session and the conference program:
communityengagement.ubc.ca/events/2025-...
Read more about the session and the conference program:
communityengagement.ubc.ca/events/2025-...
@heiditworek.bsky.social and @lageneralista.ca argue that we should think about a public option for social media.
Read more about why and what that could look like!
www.hilltimes.com/story/2025/0...
Read more about why and what that could look like!
www.hilltimes.com/story/2025/0...
A public alternative to social media
It is increasingly clear that private social media companies’ values do not align with maintaining a vibrant information ecosystem.
www.hilltimes.com
June 6, 2025 at 6:47 PM
@heiditworek.bsky.social and @lageneralista.ca argue that we should think about a public option for social media.
Read more about why and what that could look like!
www.hilltimes.com/story/2025/0...
Read more about why and what that could look like!
www.hilltimes.com/story/2025/0...
What happens when war moves from borders to feeds?
In a new piece for @thediplomat.com , CSDI's Nishtha Gupta (@krantinari.bsky.social) traces the digital fallout of the India-Pakistan crisis—from misinfo & algorithmic rage to performative nationalism.
📖 Read: thediplomat.com/2025/05/when...
In a new piece for @thediplomat.com , CSDI's Nishtha Gupta (@krantinari.bsky.social) traces the digital fallout of the India-Pakistan crisis—from misinfo & algorithmic rage to performative nationalism.
📖 Read: thediplomat.com/2025/05/when...
When India and Pakistan Went to War – Online
The rise of digital warriors adds a worrying dynamic to India-Pakistan conflict.
thediplomat.com
May 23, 2025 at 8:23 PM
What happens when war moves from borders to feeds?
In a new piece for @thediplomat.com , CSDI's Nishtha Gupta (@krantinari.bsky.social) traces the digital fallout of the India-Pakistan crisis—from misinfo & algorithmic rage to performative nationalism.
📖 Read: thediplomat.com/2025/05/when...
In a new piece for @thediplomat.com , CSDI's Nishtha Gupta (@krantinari.bsky.social) traces the digital fallout of the India-Pakistan crisis—from misinfo & algorithmic rage to performative nationalism.
📖 Read: thediplomat.com/2025/05/when...