The webinar offers a nuanced look into disinformation campaigns and presents a researcher’s perspective on these phenomena. Join us for a presentation followed by a Q&A session, in which Dr. Ahmer Arif will talk about human-centered responses to disinformation that go beyond mere fact checking.
In this webinar, we will discuss how our social computing systems are being used to intentionally spread misleading information and what we — as educators and designers — might do to address this. Drawing on examples from his research into disinformation campaigns, Dr. Arif will add nuance to our understanding of what they are, and confront four commonly held misconceptions about how these campaigns work.
Specifically, our speaker will focus on the structure and dynamics of these campaigns as they targeted: 1) a humanitarian response group operating in the Syrian Civil War; and 2) a highly charged conversation in 2016 about police violence in America and the #BlackLivesMatter movement. Dr. Arif will integrate the findings from these separate studies and draw on the literary theory of postcritique to broaden our repertoire of ideas on how we might address mis- and disinformation.
The webinar is organized by Fulbright Poland and financed by the U.S. Department of State from the Special Congressional Appropriation.
This webinar took place on June 24, 2021 as part of “The new media: between science and fiction” series. For more information about the series please visit en.fulbright.edu.pl/webinars.
