Head of Data, Government and Democracy Program, Reichman University, Israel
Professor Karine Nahon is the Head of the Data, Government, and Democracy program and an Associate Professor of Information Science at the Lauder School of Government and Ofer School of Communications at Reichman University (IDC) in Israel. She is the former president of the Israeli Internet Association (ISOC-IL).
Previously, Prof. Nahon held a tenured position as a faculty at the Information School at the University of Washington, and directed the Virality of Information (retroV) research group and the Center for Information & Society at the University of Washington. She is the author of the award-winning book Going Viral and was listed on TheMarker’s list of 100 most influential people in Israel and Forbes' list of 50 Most Influential Women in Israel.
Prof. Nahon is a prominent voice in the area of politics of information. She plays an active role in civil society, leading and participating in the development of national policies in the area of information society, disinformation, and challenges to democracies. She co-established the civilian war room, which responded to critical challenges following October 7th. Specifically, she co-established and led the missing and hostages’ array in the civilian war room.
Prof. Nahon’s previous public roles include chairing the national sub-committee of Ethics, Regulation, and Artificial Intelligence and participating in national committees examining regulations of platforms and election law. She was also a member of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) Cabinet, representing Israel in the UN’s Committee for Science and Technology. Additionally, she co-founded two Israeli NGOs: Privacy Israel, and the Digital Rights Movement. She served as a board member of Wikimedia, the Freedom of Information Movement, and the Open Knowledge Workshop. Prof. Nahon’s distinguished career reflects her deep commitment to advancing the governance’s understanding of information society, making her a pivotal figure in the intersections of information technology, democracy, and policy.