Team

Patricia Moeskops

I'm a PhD candidate at the ICAI OpenGov Lab, focusing on desinformation and authoritativeness of open government data.

Abstract

Transparency of government information is essential for enabling democratic oversight, ensuring accountability for government actions, and supporting the search for truth. However, once government information is published, it becomes open to interpretation. This is an inherent consequence of making information available to the general public and cannot be prevented. As a result, government information can also be used by third parties to spread misleading or manipulative messages. Truth claims may be constructed using government information, in which meanings are deliberately assigned that differ from the original intent.

To design the management and organization of government information in a resilient way—an overarching goal of my research—it is first necessary to gain a deeper understanding of how truth claims are constructed using government information in alternative or disinformation contexts. While much is known about how truth claims are generally constructed, the specific role of Dutch government information in this process has not yet been systematically studied. Therefore, I examine which strategies actors use either to delegitimize government information or to support their own truth claims. This is done through a qualitative content analysis of online sources, using the Discourse Model and Information Manipulation Theory as the theoretical framework.

The insights gained from this initial study will inform subsequent research, in which I will investigate whether blind spots can be identified in the management, organization, or publication of government information. If such blind spots exist, this research will contribute to answering the question of how government information can be managed in a way that remains both resilient and authoritative in times of disinformation.