The explosive development of digital technologies and the diversification of new media have decisively influenced the production, distribution, interpretation and consumption of information in recent decades. Beyond traditional media, news sites or blogs, social media platforms have become an essential infrastructure for exposing public and political discourse. Through these means of communication, the public is constantly exposed to an important amount of information, which can affect perceptions and shape people’s emotions. Directly or indirectly the motivation and behavior of the public are influenced and affected in profound ways, with major practical personal and public consequences.
They bring profound implications in the economic, political and social fields. All aspects of social and personal life are touched by these developments, and governance systems in all areas are deeply affected in their structure and functioning. All of this poses profound challenges to the nature of freedom of expression and freedom of thought. How to respond in a liberal-democratic manner to the intrinsic, internal challenge of these technological and institutional developments started from within liberal capitalist democracies and cutting-edge technological sectors, and the external challenge generated by the external opponents of the Western-liberal governance regimes that take advantage of the vulnerabilities created by these developments?
Among the expected results of the IAFELab is not only the active contribution to anchoring an emerging field of top interdisciplinary research in the region, but also to contributes to the protection of democratic values and freedoms and the rule of law in Central and Eastern Europe.
Contact us
e-mail: iafelab@unibuc.ro
90-92 Soseaua Panduri, office no. 307, Sectorul 5, Bucharest, Romania 050663
The aim of the our interdisciplinary research group is to contribute at national, European and international level to the efforts to respond to these challenges.
The role of the IAFELab would be twofold:
- – to connect the Romanian intellectual space and the public debate with the European, Western and global developments in this respect;
- – to contribute to the calibration and adaptation of various solutions and approaches to the regional context.
IAFELab‘s objectives
Our working group would is developing an interdisciplinary portfolio of both fundamental research on the topic and practical, applied activities. Our objectives in this regard are:
– to contribute to the affirmation and maintenance of media standards of professional accuracy and ethics;
– to increase the expertise of regional researchers in fighting disinformation and fake news;
– to train journalists and specialists in fact-checking and debunking disinformation and fake news;
– to establish a network of specialists in the study of disinformation and freedom of expression.
These objectives will be achieved:
– through knowledge transfer;
– through empirical research.
Members: