On September 24, Jeanne Bourgault, President of Internews, participated in a briefing at the World Economic Forum in New York, discussing how social and digital activism can help save democracy with politics and societies around the world becoming ever more polarized and truth distorted. They also discussed how to develop partnerships to ensure the basic social fabric of societies and avert business risks.

Michael J. Abramowitz, President of Freedom House, and Lindiwe Mazibuko, a South African politician and musician, were also on the panel, which was moderated by Heba Aly, Director of IRIN, Switzerland.

During the discussion, Bourgault said, “We’re often asked how do you combat fake news and my answer is – invest in real news – that’s an important piece. A couple of issues I think are fundamental. One is media itself needs to look at itself and think about inclusion. In most places, media does not reflect the communities for whom and on which they report. They need to reflect the ethnic, religious demographics of their community so they can really resonate with their communities. And particularly when it comes to women in media.”