Disinformation surge drives demand for innovative course at the University of Melbourne
Victorian councillors, council representatives, and local government professionals seeking a stronger understanding of how disinformation impacts organisations can now gain practical training to assess, counter, and build resilience to it.
Designed and delivered by Dr Morgan Saletta, Deputy Director, Hunt Laboratory for Intelligence Research and Ika Trijsburg, Research Fellow at the Melbourne Centre for Cities, Recognising and Managing Disinformation is a four-week micro-credential that was initially delivered with great success to the National Intelligence Community.
The course has now been modified for local government, and upcoming offerings will be delivered in partnership with the Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV).
Recognising and Managing Disinformation explores the main players, key tactics, and techniques behind some of the world’s most sophisticated disinformation campaigns, equipping learners with high-level skills to recognise and combat damaging conspiracy theories.
There is a clear need across government for disinformation training in Victoria following a series of recent high-profile incidents that disrupted council meetings across the state. Some attendees were agitated by councillor responses to controversial conspiracy theories connected to 15-minute cities and 5G towers.
Dr Saletta, who has been integral to the development of this program, feels the course provides essential training in the disinformation space.
“Disinformation, misinformation, and malign influence are major threats to democracy”, says Dr Saletta.
“While foreign actors are often highlighted, corporations and extremist groups also engage in these tactics. Their common goal is to manipulate people into actions against their best interests by sowing doubt, discord, distrust, and confusion. This poses a fundamental risk to democracies.
No matter how smart you are or how smart you think you are, we can all fall for disinformation. This course is vital as it equips individuals with the knowledge and skills to recognise and counter it.”
As well as providing participants with an opportunity to deep-dive on historical and contemporary disinformation campaigns, ranging from Aids propaganda in the former Soviet Union to conspiracy theories on COVID-19 and more, Dr Seletta feels there is also a strong emphasis on practical activities that are both engaging and current.
“This course provides participants with current best practice for countering and building resilience to disinformation. We use case studies to give students a solid foundation in real-life examples and practical activities in learning to debunk and prebunk disinformation.”
Ika Trijsburg co-delivers the Recognising and Managing Disinformation program, focusing on disinformation campaigns' impact on cities, which is essential when applying the course in a local government context.
Trijsburg believes that the key to countering disinformation is understanding why people create and use it.
“There are different drivers,” says Trijsburg.
“Some people are politically motivated because they have a particular political agenda. Others are politically motivated in the sense that they just want to sow chaos, and then there are those who are just economically motivated because of advertising revenue and the clickbait benefits.”
She adds, “But if we understand where the prejudices lie, where the distrust lies within our communities and our societies, then that gives us some sense of where we might expect to see disinformation flourish.”
It is crucial to gain strategies to counter malign actors whose motivations can vary and often include tactics and tools that are evolving rapidly. That’s why Dr Saletta has worked closely with government and industry to create a course that challenges participants to apply what they learn to their professional context.
A key component is a project-based assessment that enables learners to analyse their own organisation and develop a report identifying potential risks, impacts, and a recommended strategy for countering disinformation threats.
It is this type of real-world activity that empowers employees with new capabilities and help keep organisations safe from malign influence.
The success of the course with the National Defence Community, coupled with a strong demand for this type of training, has enabled the University of Melbourne to open Recognising and Managing Disinformation to new cohorts, including councillors and a range of public sector professionals working in communications, engagement, legal services, and risk management.
And with the World Economic Forum naming disinformation as the top global risk for the next two years in its annual Global Risks Report, this type of future-focused training will become increasingly important over the coming years.
“Recognising and Managing Disinformation has already been very successful,” adds Dr Saletta.
“Especially because we were invited to deliver it to the Australian intelligence community through the National Intelligence Academy. We are also developing a version of the course focusing on Southeast Asia and the Indo-Pacific with funding from DFAT’s Cyber and Critical Technology Cooperation Program (CCTP). And, with Ika [Trijsburg], we are developing a version aimed at City Managers in Australia and Internationally.”
Want to learn more about the Recognising and Disinformation program, including how you can enrol your staff in future intakes? Contact our friendly business development team for more information.
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