Disinformation and the Domestic Political Implications

Zoom Webinar

What’s at Stake for American Politics?

The 2024 presidential election promises to be a consequential one, as Kamala Harris and Donald Trump have offered very different visions for America’s future. This webinar will explore what political scientists know about how voters process the political information they encounter and how the decisions they make at the ballot box are likely to affect policymaking in Washington D.C. Are voters able to distinguish fact from fiction and what tools do we have to help them do so? And if voters are capable of making informed decisions, how responsive are our political institutions to the choices they make? Professors Molly Offer-Westort and Ruth Bloch Rubin will share the answers that experts in elections and institutions have offered to these questions and reflect on what we are still learning about American democracy.

Speakers

Ruth Bloch Rubin
Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science
The University of Chicago

Molly Offer-Westort
Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science
The University of Chicago

Webinar Program (Hong Kong Time)

8:30 pm – 8:50 pm    Talk by Professor Ruth Bloch Rubin
8:50 pm – 9:10 pm     Talk by Professor Molly Offer-Westort
9:10 pm – 9:30 pm     Discussion

9:30 pm    Japan | South Korea 
8:30 pm      Hong Kong | Beijing | Singapore 
6:00 pm      Delhi 
2:30 pm      Paris 
1:30 pm       London
7:30 am     Chicago 

Reference Materials

Publications – Ruth Bloch Rubin

• Divided Parties, Strong Leaders (University of Chicago Press | 2025)
• Building the Bloc: Intraparty Organization in the US Congress (Cambridge University Press | 2017)

Publications – Molly Offer-Westort

• Battling the coronavirus ‘infodemic’ among social media users in Kenya and Nigeria (Molly Offer-Westort, Leah R. Rosenzweig, and Susan Athey | Nature Human Behaviour | March 2024)
• Conversations with a concern-addressing chatbot increase COVID-19 vaccination intentions among social media users in Kenya and Nigeria (Leah R. Rosenzweig and Molly Offer-Westort | October 2023)
• Adaptive Experimental Design: Prospects and Applications in Political Science (Molly Offer-Westort, Alexander Coppock, and Donald P. Green | American Journal of Political Science | February 2021)

About U.S. Presidential Election 2024

The 2024 U.S. presidential election is guaranteed to be the election that defines the United States for generations to come. UChicago’s leading political science faculty will discuss populism in America, the geopolitical and international economic implications of the election, disinformation and political implications, and the resilience of American democracy. Read More.