Jan 23, 2026
Deepak Puri, CEO of The Democracy Labs, shines a light on how free and low-cost apps can simplify political intrigue and complex social issues and be used to educate and motivate. Visualization tools for relationship mapping, accountability mapping, and crowdsourcing increase civic engagement, hold elected officials accountable, and counter disinformation and conspiracy theories.
Deepak and I talk about:
- Relationship mapping tools such as Kumu.io which are effective for exposing hidden financial and personal connections between individuals and organizations
- Accountability maps from Esri that serve to directly connect decisions of elected officials to tangible consequences and outcomes in their districts
- Crowdsourcing apps like Padlet which is a way to engage individuals in real-time information gathering and mobilization allowing for rapid response and collective documentation of events
#TheDemLabs #PoliticalAccountability #DataVisualization #CivicEngagement #PoliticalTransparency #SocialJustice #VotingRights #CitizenJournalism #PoliticalData #CommunityOrganizing #Kumuio #Esri #Padlet
