The WIN WIN Award highlights the harmful impact of disinformation on democracy and sustainability - here are the finalists of 2023

The WIN WIN Gothenburg Sustainability Award, one of the world's leading sustainability awards, highlights the importance of fighting disinformation to achieve a more sustainable and democratic world with the theme of 2023 "Fighting Disinformation". The award consisting of 1 million Swedish kronor, aims to recognise and reward outstanding contributions towards a more sustainable future. Today, the five finalists for the WIN WIN Award and the WIN WIN Youth Award are announced.

Digitalisation has altered the way we interact with one another in a profound way. Advanced technology enables us to connect with people from all over the globe, share knowledge and work towards the change we aspire to achieve. Nonetheless, the spread of disinformation campaigns - deliberate attempts to circulate false information - has increased significantly with the rise of the internet. The internet and technological tools have a vital role in creating more democratic and sustainable societies. As a result, the theme for the 2023 WIN WIN Gothenburg Sustainability Award is "Fighting Disinformation."

"The current rise of disinformation is alarming. It results in misguided decisions, increased polarisation, and a lacking understanding of the critical challenges we face today. It is imperative that individuals, organisations and governments around the world make efforts to ensure we can make informed decisions and act in a way that benefits our planet and its inhabitants.", states Sara Larsson, Executive Director of the WIN WIN Award.

People who investigate and expose disinformation campaigns often do so at the risk of their own safety. The powerful and influential actors who spread disinformation frequently employ various tactics to undermine and discredit those who attempt to expose their lies and manipulative tactics. This can include personal harassment or targeted attacks on the person's professional reputation and career. Therefore, it is crucial to recognise and highlight these individuals' courageous efforts and protect them from possible threats from actors who wish to silence them. Consequently, even the WIN WIN Gothenburg Sustainability Award may be subject to comparable pressures when presenting the finalists.

Nonetheless, the WIN WIN Gothenburg Sustainability Award remains steadfast in this year's theme and is proud to highlight the most prominent individuals in the field. The 2023 finalists demonstrate a wide range of initiatives that effectively fights disinformation, both proactively and reactively. Among the finalists are examples of investigative journalism, efforts to strengthen resilience, innovative use of social media, new technology, and humour as a tool to fight disinformation, as well as a broad spectrum of perspectives that contribute to an increased understanding of how disinformation affects different groups in society.

WIN WIN Gothenburg Sustainability Award is one of the world's leading sustainability awards that reward and recognise outstanding solutions to the most critical challenges the world faces today.

These are the five finalists for WIN WIN Award 2023

Bellingcat is an independent international collective of researchers, investigators and citizen journalists that employs open-source intelligence, social media, and other publicly available sources to investigate various types of conflicts and crises around the world. The jury nominates Bellingcat and its founder Eliot Higgins for their innovative methods, which have led to a new generation of investigative journalism and enabled Bellingcat to uncover critical information about urgent global issues.
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Audrey Tang is the Digital Minister of Taiwan who uses civic inclusion, open-source technology, transparency, and humour to fight disinformation in a pioneering way. The jury nominates Audrey Tang for her unwavering commitment to utilizing technology for the greater good, promoting digital literacy and empowering citizens to become more informed and engaged in the democratic process.
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Mastodon is a community-based social media platform, created as an alternative to established platforms based on a business model using algorithms for maximizing time spent by users and advertising revenue. The jury nominates Mastodon and its founder Eugen Rochko for establishing a more democratic platform that can foster a non-polarizing public discussion which is essential for creating a more sustainable future.
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Jigsaw is a unit within Google that develops cutting-edge technology to address existing and emerging threats to open societies. The jury nominates Jigsaw and its CEO Yasmin Green for the creation and utilization of powerful digital tools to fight disinformation, censorship, toxic language, and violent extremism. By making the tools accessible to the public, they increase the collective capacity to fight severe societal challenges.
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Centre for humane Technology is an NGO focused on combating the negative effects of technology on society and promoting humane technology for a more sustainable future. The jury nominates Center for Humane Technology and its Executive Director Tristan Harris, for the tireless efforts to fight disinformation and promote digital well-being to benefit individuals, society, and democracy.
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The WIN WIN Youth Award is an international award that aims to empower and reward young people who play an active role in the creation of a more sustainable future.

These are the five finalists for WIN WIN Youth Award 2023:

Kenny Dos Santos is the founder of MIK Biblioteket, a platform providing teachers with accessible and unique educational material to promote media and information literacy in Swedish schools. The jury nominates Kenny Dos Santos for his significant commitment to building resilience against disinformation and fake news among children and young people at an early age.
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Sophia Smith Galer is an author and journalist who combats misinformation about sex and sexual health in traditional and social media. The jury nominates Sophia Smith Galer for her innovative awareness campaigns that have reached a broad audience on social media and her book, "Losing It: Sex education for the 21st century” which debunks sexual myths in an accessible and insightful format.
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Nitsan Yasur is the co-founder of Fake Reporter, an organisation that fights disinformation through a crowdsourced reporting platform that, together with open-source information, provides real-time responses to current disinformation campaigns. The jury nominates Nitsan Yasur for developing the innovative reporting platform and for his investigations that have led to concrete changes in the Israeli political system.
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Abbie Richards is a researcher and content creator known for creating the widely popular interactive taxonomy chart "The Conspiracy Chart" and for combating disinformation and conspiracy theories through social media. The jury nominates Abbie Richards for her outstanding ability to educate and engage a diverse audience using humour, facts, and accessible graphic design, as well as her ability to facilitate a deeper understanding of some of the most complex and pressing societal issues of today.
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Kaylin Dodson is a researcher and writer who specializes in exploring the effects of mis- and disinformation on various subgroups. Through her work, she has specifically examined how COVID-19 disinformation has impacted the Black community. The jury nominates Kaylin Dodson for her insightful research that shows how disinformation disproportionately can affect different groups of people and the importance of taking these varying perspectives into account when examining the impacts of disinformation
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The world's leading sustainability award aims to recognize and support outstanding contributions from around the world. Our goal is to stimulate creativity and achieve lasting synergies as we strive to strike the right balance between ecological, environmental and social needs. The award has been presented in Gothenburg since 2000. The winners of WIN WIN Award and WIN WIN Youth Award will be announced at the conference "How does disinformation affect sustainable development" (in Swedish).