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Paper short abstract

As resources are poured into countering disinformation, not much attention is given to learning about the actors entrusted with these tasks. This paper argues that understanding phenomena of disinformation and conspiracy theories cannot be completed without learning about the Disinfo Sector.

Paper long abstract

Our knowledge of actors and conditions that give rise to disinformation and conspiracy theories is increasingly improving. But we know very little about the growing sector of state, civic, private and other actors specialising in countering disinformation itself: the Disinfo Sector. Who are the main stakeholders at the national, local and civic levels who are involved in preventing and countering disinformation? What kind of interventions do they design and for whom, and why? In this paper I argue that anthropology is particularly well suited to answer these questions, to understand a complex web of the Disinfo Sector, diverse approaches to information governance, the ways that state and non-state stakeholders connect with or separate from one other, and how ideas, data and knowledge are produced and exchanged across spatial, cultural and political distances as well as across the private and the public sector. This paper also makes a point that this knowledge is necessary not only to better address the problem of disinformation, but also to gain a better insight into the changing political landscapes of our societies, the new alliances and disruptions connecting and disconnecting state, civic and private actors.