Natural disasters, elections, climate changes, insurrections, pandemics, and new technologies are rocking the world. People talk about events, both these massive ones and much smaller ones, on line. Social media platforms, search engines and websites have become the window through which these events are viewed and interpreted. Those on social media seek and shape information, build and join communities, often with impacts in the physical world. One consequence is an online breeding ground for growing and disseminating disinformation, hate speech and extremism. In this conference we ask: How is this done? Who is doing it? Why is it being done? What are the social consequences? How can it be countered?
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