Speaker: Ms. Clara Gillispie,
International Visiting Fellow, Taiwan Foundation for Democracy;
Senior Advisor, the National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR)
Date: Friday, November 27th, 2020
Time: 10:30 – 12:00
Venue: Room 101, Taiwan Foundation for Democracy
No. 4, Alley 17, Lane 147, Sec. 3, Sinyi Rd., Taipei, Taiwan
Moderator: Dr. Yeh-Chung Lu (盧業中), Vice President, Taiwan Foundation for Democracy
Discussant: Dr. Che-Chuan Lee (李哲全), Director, Division of National Security Research, Institute for National Defense and Security Research
Agenda:
10:30 – 10:40 Opening remarks by Dr. Yeh-Chung Lu
10:40 – 11:20 Presentation by Ms. Clara Gillispie
11:20 – 11:40 Comments by Dr. Che-Chuan Lee
11:40 – 12:00 Open discussion
※ Please note that this event will be conducted in English.
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In the midst of the Covid-19 outbreak, a number of pieces of misinformation as well as several outright falsehoods about the pandemic have gone viral online, ultimately making their way to virtually every country in the Indo-Pacific. Examples range from medically inaccurate claims that home remedies can ‘cure’ the disease’ to conspiracy theories about government-directed cover ups.
Such online rumors can—and sometimes do—translate into real, offline harms. As a number of studies have shown, this can include discouraging people from seeking professional medical attention or even inciting violence. The flipside of this concern, however, is the question of how countries (and especially its democracies) might be able to respond without resorting to potentially toxic digital architecture that could chill free speech or other negatively impact individual rights.
With this in mind, this presentation will explore Taiwan’s experiences in combatting online misinformation during the Covid-19 outbreak. In doing so, it aims to detail key challenges and successes to-date; notable methods and tools deployed; and potential takeaways for both Taiwan and for other democracies in the Indo-Pacific.
—by Ms. Clara Gillispie
Speaker Biography
Clara Gillispie is an International Visiting Fellow at the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy and Senior Advisor to the National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR). She also serves as the official U.S. delegate to the Energy Research Institute Network, an East Asia Summit-linked network whose inputs are designed to inform the formal East Asia Summit process. Ms. Gillispie’s subject-matter expertise covers topics ranging from technology policymaking to energy security to geopolitical trends in the Asia-Pacific. She is the author of numerous policy essays and reports, including “South Korea’s Digital Healthcare Conundrum” (forthcoming), “South Korea’s 5G Ambitions” (2020), and “How Asia’s Auto Boom Shapes Its Energy Security Strategies” (co-authored with Laura Schwartz, 2019). Ms. Gillispie is regularly called on to directly brief her research and analysis to U.S. and Asian government officials, senior industry representatives, and the media, including the New York Times, Washington Post, and NPR’s Marketplace. Her current research at the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy focuses on the country’s efforts to combat online misinformation about public health.
Previously, Ms. Gillispie served as a Senior Director for Trade, Economic, and Energy Affairs at NBR. She was also a 2019–20 CFR International Affairs Fellow in India, which included an in-country residency at Carnegie India, and a 2017–18 SAFE Energy Security Fellow. Prior to this, Ms. Gillispie worked for the U.S. House Committee on Science, Technology, and Space; Detica Federal Inc. (now a part of BAE Systems); and the American Chamber of Commerce in China. Ms. Gillispie graduated from the London School of Economics and Peking University with a dual MSc in International Affairs. Prior to her graduate studies, she received a BS from Georgetown University and attended Sophia University in Tokyo for language training.
Contact Li Ying-Hsuan to register – yhli@tfd.org.tw