The “Mosaic Project:” ISD’s joint initiative to combat disinformation during the Australian federal election

ISD’s Head of Digital Integrity, Jiore Craig, spoke to SBS News about the Mosaic Project, a joint initiative between ISD, the Judith Nielsen Institute, and RMIT’s FactLab. Mosaic tracks electoral disinformation and information manipulation and provides this information to Australian newsrooms.

“Democracies are particularly vulnerable amid an election campaign, disinformation is a growing challenge in the sense it can radicalise online communities that COVID has brought together,” Jiore told SBS News. She also pointed out the importance of recognising how much electoral disinformation is domestic in origin, but amplified by foreign states: “Elections are like petri dishes for foreign state actors to try out disinformation capabilities. They often amplify existing tensions and dynamics, pouring fuel on the fire. Most of this is homegrown.”

The ISD/JNI/RMIT team will be tracking and debunking disinformation narratives in real time as the Australian election approaches.

Jiore Craig is the Head of Digital Integrity at ISD.