John,

Social media platforms are designed to maximize our attention, sucking us in and keeping us hooked. They do this by keeping the public in the dark about how algorithms elevate certain content, pushing people deeper and deeper into echo chambers.

People are being pulled farther from the political center, and find it increasingly difficult to view less radical content. In the worst instances, users are sent down a rabbit hole where the most inflammatory and extremist content, including false information frequently promoted by foreign adversaries, like China and Russia, is advanced. The result is a polarized electorate and an information environment poisoned with false information. Authoritarian regimes and domestic bad actors have seized upon this vulnerability, exploiting it to promote their view of the world or divide Americans. Terrorist organizations around the world use these platforms to indoctrinate and then recruit people to their extreme causes.

Join Issue One’s Council for Responsible Social Media on Friday, February 2 at 1pm ET for “Down the Rabbit Hole: How Social Media is Designed to Radicalize its Users” — an event that will bring together experts in national security, technology, and democracy to discuss the effect of social media on domestic and foreign extremism, how algorithms are designed to radicalize users, and what solutions are necessary to protect our democracy from extremism.

The panel will be moderated by Council for Responsible Social Media Co-chair and former Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts Kerry Healey and feature the following panelists:

• Farah Pandith: Council for Responsible Social Media member, senior advisor at the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), adjunct senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, foreign policy strategist, and former diplomat
• Sasha Havliceck: CEO of Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD), expert advisor to the UK Counter-Extremism Commission and the Mayor of London’s counter-extremism program, member of the European Council on Foreign Relations
• Michael Chertoff: National Council on Election Integrity member, co-founder and executive chairman of the Chertoff Group, former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and former federal judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

RSVP now and join us on February 2 at 1pm ET!

We hope to see you there,
The Issue One Team

P.S. Please note that we will be recording this virtual event so folks who cannot watch live can still be part of the conversation. Make sure to RSVP to receive the link to the recording.