Hello!

Even though July is coming to an end, there are no summer doldrums at the Integrity Institute. Since returning from TrustCon two weeks ago, many Institute members and staff got right back to work. Today, we are bringing you another edition of the newsletter packed with resources for and updates on how to protect the social internet. Let’s dive right in!

Launching: platform transparency overview!

Big news today: we are launching a new resource – “Shining a Light on Platform Transparency Best Practices” – to provide a high-level overview of what online social platform transparency could look like and what it could accomplish.

Like all the Best Practice Guides released by the Institute, this new resource is a flagship member-powered and staff-led effort. It took a massive community involving dozens of members, organized by volunteer and staff project managers with deep expertise in integrity work, to produce this new resource. We are proud of its content, and we are even prouder of how it came together. We are grateful for all the members who play an integral role in our think-tank activities every day.

Read on about this new resource on platform transparency – we hope it is useful for everyone who cares about what it takes to build truly meaningful transparency from social platforms, and that you will help us share it widely.

As a wave of new regulations and legislative proposals around transparency from social media platforms are being written all over the world, the Integrity Institute is releasing a new resource to provide a high-level overview of what such transparency could look like and what it could accomplish.

This new resource complements the previous metrics and ranking and design transparency resources by giving a high-level entry point for policymakers and industry leaders who are newer to this space by covering:

The goals of platform transparency;
Different forms transparency can take and directions platforms can explore when setting up transparency initiatives;
Audiences for transparency initiatives;
Current transparency practices; and
Potential risks to balance when undertaking transparency efforts.

Unlike previous metrics and ranking design transparency resources, this high-level overview is not a best practices guide for platforms on how to set up and refine their transparency initiatives. Instead, this overview speaks to policymakers, companies, and civil society about why they should care about platform transparency and how it can contribute to platform accountability, collaboration, understanding, and building trust among the platforms and various stakeholders.

TrustCon reflections and member activity updates

Our community of integrity professionals is the foundation for all the activities at the Integrity Institute. As our executive director Sahar Massachi shares often, the Integrity Institute exists to be “a stage for all integrity workers to stand on.” And this stage is growing rapidly! Two weeks ago at TrustCon, more than two dozens of sessions featured Institute members, and many of those sessions came about from member-to-member conversations. Looking ahead, you will get to hear from Institute members at events such as DEF CON 31 and Trust & Safety Research Conference, as well as venues like the Institute’s blog and Trust in Tech podcast, so stay tuned!

Chief research officer Jeff Allen presenting at TrustCon

Many Institute members also got to connect in-person at TrustCon. Even though integrity professionals know first hand the power of community-building in online spaces, meeting one another face-to-face was catalytic. We cannot wait to see and share with you what those connections will produce later throughout the year. In the meantime, here are some updates to whet your appetite:

As a preview to today’s launch, our chief research officer Jeff Allen presented at TrustCon how meaningful platform transparency could inform all the proposed social platform regulations.
Institute member Assaf Kipnis went on the Trust in Tech podcast to discuss “pig butchering scams” with fellow member Alice Hunsberger. The episode dropped during TrustCon and was an immediate hit! So much so, Assaf released a companion piece shortly after!
Institute fellow Tom Cunningham had shared his research on “ranking by engagement” earlier. Guess what? It just got a shout-out by Daphne Keller! (Thank you, Daphne!) Tom is working on such high-quality, original research at the Institute, so there will be more to come.
What we have seen at events such as TrustCon is that partnerships are key to the future of the social internet, and we have an unprecedented opportunity to influence said future right now. This echoes discussions among dozens of integrity workers, policymakers, civil society advocates, and funders the Institute hosted recently.
Finally, in case you have FOMO like me, Institute senior advisor Katie Harbath shares her dispatches from TrustCon!

We’re hiring! Please help.

If all the community and think-tank activities were not enough, we are also growing our staff! There are three new staff positions at the Integrity Institute, and we’d love your help finding great people for them. (Or consider applying to them yourselves?)

A bit about each of the positions:

Managing Director: This role serves as a strategic partner and advisor to the Executive Director. As a senior role that focuses both on upgrading the organization as a whole and on day-to-day people management, the managing director would develop and implement structure, relationships, and processes that ensure Institute staff are thriving, effective, and have the support they need to be able to do their best work.
Community Project Manager: The Community Project Manager position will be a core leader in our growing Community pillar, and will be managed by the Executive Director and work closely with the Community Organizer. The Community Project Manager will own our “bottom-up think tank” and project management for ideas and projects coming from our membership.
Executive Assistant: We’re seeking an Executive Assistant to join our team and provide invaluable support to our co-founders: the Executive Director & Chief Research Officer. The Executive Assistant will be the key point of contact for internal and external stakeholders on all matters pertaining to the co-founders.

For full job descriptions and details on the application process, visit our website here. Have any good people in mind? Please send them our way and share with your networks! For any questions or follow-up, please reach out.

Thank you for your ongoing support for the Integrity Institute. It’s been a delight sharing this edition of the newsletter with you in Jeff and Sahar’s stead. As always, reach out with what’s on your mind and let’s talk!

Sean Wang, partnerships and collaborations manager

Launching: Platform Transparency Overview! (Plus: We're Hiring & More)