Counting down to CITAP's symposium
We are officially starting the countdown to the Misinformation & Marginalization Symposium: it is 12 days away!
We are 12 days away from the Symposium on Misinformation and Marginalization! We are so excited to host 3 great panels and Dr. Sarah Banet-Weiser as our keynote speaker.
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.
A panel on mis/disinformation in diasporic communities led by Dr. Pranav Malhotra.
A panel on misinformation, algorithmic amplification, race, and religion led by Dr. Robyn Caplan.
The symposium is a hybrid event and will include a catered lunch for in-person attendees.
First Amendment Day
Tomorrow October 4th is UNC’s 14th Annual First Amendment Day hosted by the Center for Media Law & Policy. There will be events from 10:00am to 9:15pm.
October 4th, 10am: Francesca Tripodi will introduce the “Banned Books Reading” event.
October 4th, 3:30pm: Daniel Kreiss, Shannon McGregor, and Deen Freelon will be on a panel, “Elections, Expression, and Platforms”, moderated by Alice Marwick.
These events are open to the public & do not require registration. If you are in/ near Chapel Hill, please come by!
Publications & Appearances
Tressie McMillan Cottom participated in a virtual discussion on Reading, Power, and Freedom with the Mellon Foundation on September 26th. Tressie discussed how reading not only is an expression of freedom, but book bans and the debate around them show the inherent power that comes with reading: “It speaks to how fundamental humans think the act of reading is to the expression of human agency… so when I think about how important reading is to the relationship of power, we need only look at how willing people are willing to fight over it to understand its power.”
Shannon McGregor was a panelist on a webinar “Impact of the Internet on Democracy: positive tool or polarizing force?” on September 26th, hosted by The Democracy Forum. She discussed how “polarization tends to mythologize these eras of consensus and supposed unity, but political consensus is usually based on an agreement between the left and right to leave the discriminatory social order intact, and deny equal representation to others… The same algorithms that many of us decry for polarizing publics across different countries are also the ones that activists are struggling to utilize to make things like police violence visible.”
Francesca Tripodi gave a talk on September 20th at Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, on her 2022 book, Propogandists’ Playbook. This book looked at how the right weaponizes search terms and results in order to produce a narrative. If you want to read more about Francesca’s book and her research, she wrote an op-ed in Wired in 2022 discussing this weaponization of search results & its damage to democracy.
We are hiring!
We are seeking a Postdoctoral Research Associate to join us and work with Dr. Francesca Tripodi and the Search Prompt Integrity & Learning Lab (SPILL). Read the full description here and share the posting!
Coming Soon
October
October 16 at CITAP: Misinformation and Marginalization Symposium.
How does misinformation circulate in marginalized communities, and what misinformation narratives are shared about marginalized groups?
Featuring a keynote from Dr. Sarah Banet-Weiser and panels on misinformation and gender & sexuality; diasporic communities; and algorithmic amplification, race, and religion. Free registration required to join in person or virtually!
October 18 at AoIR: Alice Marwick, Yvonne Eadon, and Rachel Kuo are among the co-organizers of an AoIR preconference on future of conspiracy.
October 20 at AoIR: CITAP, CDCS, and IDDP are co-hosting a networking Happy Hour on Friday at 6pm. RSVP for the event here!
October 22 at the Annenberg Public Policy Center: The Post-API Conference.
November
November 1 at CITAP: CITAP is hosting a book club! We will be reading “White Evangelical Racism” by Anthea Butler. Email citap@unc.edu for more information.
November 10 at CITAP: Symposium on Religion, Media, and Public Life.
Confirmed panelists include Whitney Phillips, Samuel Perry, Eden Consenstein, Xavier Pickett, Erika Gault, LeRhonda Manigault-Bryant, and Heidi Campbell, with additional participants to be named in the weeks to come. Register to join in person or virtually!