Monday, October 16, 2023
Freedom Forum Conference Center, Carroll Hall
The Symposium on Misinformation & Marginalization will explore global and comparative frames for mis- and disinformation studies that center marginalized perspectives. This symposium will feature panels and discussions that investigate how online mis- and disinformation spreads and functions differently within different communities, how it can contribute to further harm in such communities, and how critical disinformation studies perspectives might transform the field as a whole.
The agenda will include:
A keynote speech from renowned scholar of feminist media studies Dr. Sarah Banet-Weiser
A panel on gender, sexuality, & misinformation led by Dr. Marie Hermanova. This panel will feature papers that explore the role of antisemitic conspiracy theories in the anti-abortion movement, anti-trans disinformation discourses, and moral panics in the U.S. around drag queen story hours.
A panel on mis/disinformation in diasporic communities led by Dr. Pranav Malhotra. This panel will feature papers on perspectives on the January 6 insurrection from the Brazilian diaspora in the U.S., information disorder in Vietnamese-American communities, socio-technical approaches to studying mis- and disinformation in the lives of immigrants, investigating mis- and disinformation spread in Korean-American communities, and looking at COVID-19 misinformation spread among racialized communities in Canada.
A panel on misinformation, algorithmic amplification, race, and religion led by Dr. Robyn Caplan. This panel will feature papers that map how Islamaphobic content spreads on YouTube in India, algorithmic amplification of Indian state propaganda on Twitter, affective stickiness and platform perfomativity in the circulation of Hindu nationalist disinformation, and the spread of COVID-19 misinformation on social media among racially marginalized communities in the U.S.
This symposium is a hybrid event and will include a catered lunch for in-person attendees.