Is Social Media a Threat to Democracy? Thinking Long Term As we consider how the future could unfold, we believe it is necessary to think about the broader context, the nature of the public square, and how facts and evidence play a role. For example, in prior decades there were campaigns against the effects of smoking on individuals, which changed behavior significantly over time and improved public health overall. Going forward, we need to ensure that the public square is not corrupted and that science and evidence, and the process of making decisions, continues in a manner that is seen to be trusted and is also trustworthy. Over the long term this could require engagement with journalists across the globe who want to improve their data savvy, either by improved reporting on these issues or by working with them to involve social data science in their reporting. Many of the problems above require collaboration between social data scientists for discovery and journalists for storytelling. It may also require engagement on questions of public policy by all parties. Countries around the world are struggling to understand steps they might take in response to these challenges and without proactive engagement from all parties (governments, industry, and advocacy groups) there is a real danger that democratic governments will do things that further foreclose the public square. Our Commitment The Omidyar Group recognizes that the public square is in a time of great transition, and we are supporting a variety of organizations aimed at increasing civic engagement, fostering trust in our institutions, and strengthening the role of journalism for the health of our democracy. In the United States, Democracy Fund has invested more than $18 million in people and organizations working to create a more vibrant public square, including efforts to rebuild trust in journalism and to address the rise of misinformation. In particular, Democracy Fund has partnered with other funders to invest in prototype ideas to improve the flow of accurate information. It also supports the Engaging News Project and the Coral Project, two leading efforts to build a more engaged online public square. Recently, Democracy Fund and First Look Media announced $12M in grants to support investigative journalism and a robust, free press. Globally, Omidyar Network announced a $100M commitment to fund investigative journalism, combat the spread of mis-and disinformation online, increase citizen engagement, and restore trust in institutions.43 We are committed to seeking and supporting innovative solutions to mitigate the negative consequences of social media participation—and manipulation. We have published this paper to share our initial analysis and outstanding questions and to begin a productive dialogue, among diverse stakeholders, on this important topic. We look forward to continued sense-making and exploring possibilities to partner with others as we search for answers. Please email inquiries@omidyargroup.com to discuss how we might work together. The first recipients include the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, the group behind last year’s release of the Panama Papers, which will receive $4.5 million. 43 © Copyright The Omidyar Group 2017. All rights reserved. PAGE 15