Committees

Fake news evidence session in Washington D.C.

8 February 2018

The Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee questions Google, Facebook and media experts on fake news. The session takes place in Washington DC, the ever first select committee session to be live-streamed from abroad.

Evidence session

MPs from the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee spend a day in Washington D.C. taking evidence on Fake News and misinformation at George Washington University. Starting at 14.00 (UK time) Global policy leads from Google (14.00), Facebook (15.00) and Twitter (16.00) will be questioned on their role in tackling the proliferation of fake news and rogue content on their platforms. MPs will hear from leading policy experts (18.00) and senior executives at media organisations including the News Media Alliance, CNN, The New York Times and CBS News (19.00).

Witnesses

Panel 1: 14.00 (09.00 US time) 

  • Richard Gingras, Vice President of News, Google
  • Juniper Downs, Global Head of Public Policy, YouTube

Panel 2: 15.00 (10.00 US time)

  • Monika Bickert, Head of Global Policy Management, Facebook
  • Simon Milner, Policy Director, UK, Middle East and Africa, Facebook

Panel 3: 16.00 (11.00 US time)

  • Carlos Monje, Director, Public Policy and Philanthropy, U.S. and Canada, Twitter
  • Nick Pickles, Head of Public Policy and Philanthropy, UK, Twitter

Lunch break at noon

Panel 4: 18.00 (13.00 US time) 

  • David Carroll, Associate Professor of Media Design, The New School
  • Amy Mitchell, Director of Journalism Research, Pew Research Center
  • Frank Sesno, Director, School of Media and Public Affairs, George Washington University
  • Claire Wardle, Research Fellow, Shorenstein Centre on Media, Politics and Public Policy

Panel 5: 19.00 (14.00 US time)

  • David Chavern, President and CEO, News Media Alliance
  • Major Garrett, Chief White House Correspondent, CBS News
  • Tony Maddox, Executive VP and MD, CNN International
  • Kinsey Wilson, Special Advisor to the President/CEO of the New York Times

A press conference will follow at 21.00 (16.00 US time).

Written evidence

The Committee published additional written evidence from:

  • David Chavern, President and CEO, News Media Alliance
  • Dr Claire Wardle, Research Fellow at the Shorenstein Center for Media, Politics and Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School;
  • Amy Mitchell, Director of Journalism Research, Pew Research Center
  • Google
  • Major Garrett, Chief Whitehouse Correspondent, CBS News.

View the written evidence

Further information 

You can get clips of the session by contacting the Parliamentary Broadcasting Unit on 020 7219 5511 or pru@parliament.uk.

Further information from Lucy Dargahi (travelling with the Committee) 447921293656 dargahil@parliament.uk  and Estelle Currie curriee@parliament.uk , in UK.

This is the first ever live broadcast, public hearing of a House of Commons select committee outside of the United Kingdom. It will be a formal proceeding of the UK Parliament. A transcript of the proceedings will be available later via the Official Report/Hansard.

As advertised previously, the Committee is visiting the US. The Committee programme includes a number of private meetings with tech and media companies in New York before travelling to Washington DC and taking oral evidence in public session. The George Washington University's Graduate School of Political Management and School of Media and Public Affairs will host the public evidence session for the Committee.

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