BEGIN:VCALENDAR PRODID:-//Columba Systems Ltd//NONSGML CPNG/SpringViewer/ICal Output/3.3- M3//EN VERSION:2.0 CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260611T155758Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260702 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260703 SUMMARY:Centre for Digital Trust and Society Forum 2026 UID:{http://www.columbasystems.com/customers/uom/gpp/eventid/}b1zc-mnq37n lm-gk9mfl DESCRIPTION:Now in its 4th year\, the Centre for Digital Trust and Societ y Annual Forum brings together leading voices from academia\, government and civil society to explore the evolving challenges and opportunities shaping digital trust and security.\nThe Centre for Digital Trust and So ciety (CDTS) brings together interdisciplinary expertise from across the University of Manchester to examine the barriers and enablers of trust in digital technologies. Building on the success of our previous forums\ , this year’s event once again convenes national and international partn ers across our research clusters to reflect on emerging risks\, share in sights\, and co-create an inclusive vision for a safer digital future.\n \nWhat to Expect\n\nTwo keynote talks from distinguished experts working at the forefront of digital trust\, online influence\, and information integrity.\nTwo thematic panels addressing the complex sociotechnical fo rces shaping today’s information environment.\nLightning Talks from Univ ersity of Manchester PhD & ECR community on trust and security issues in digital\, government\, industry\, and civil society contexts.\nWho Shou ld Attend?\n\nResearchers and academics\nPublic sector and policy profes sionals\nIndustry practitioners\nCivil society and community organisatio ns\nAnyone with an interest in digital trust\, online safety\, and infor mation integrity\nOpportunity for UoM PhD Students & ECRs\n\nWe warmly i nvite PhD students and early?career researchers to showcase their work a t our annual sell?out forum on 2 July. You are welcome to present either a digital research poster or a lightning talk. If your research aligns with one of the Centre’s themes\, please submit a short summary of your work (maximum 250 words\, including headings) to Allysa Czerwinsky at al lysa.czerwinsky@manchester.ac.uk at your earliest convenience. Spaces wi ll be allocated on a first?come\, first?served basis. For more informati on: https://documents.manchester.ac.uk/display.aspx?DocID=78638\n\nKeyno te 1: Jonathan Hall KC\, 6kbw College Hill\n\nJonathan Hall is a practis ing barrister at 6kbw College Hill in London where he specialises in nat ional security\, asset recovery\, crypto and law enforcement powers\, an d has been a kc since 2014. He was appointed by the home secretary as th e independent reviewer of terrorism legislation in 2019\, and as the uk' s first independent reviewer of state threats legislation in 2024. These are (just about) part-time roles which he carries out from his chambers and from the home office. He has reported widely on the online domain\, especially its impact on children\, on how traditional laws apply (or n ot) to artificial intelligence\, on countering social media falsehoods a fter attacks like the attack at southport\, and writes frequently about online regulation. He is a visiting senior fellow at the centre for emer ging technology and security at the Alan Turing Institute.\n\nKeynote 2: Dr. Emma L. Briant\, University of Notre Dame\n\nDr. Emma L. Briant is one of the world’s leading experts on information warfare and propaganda . Her research analyzing propaganda\, media and technology spans nearly two decades during which time she has taken on some of the most rapidly evolving and disruptive political challenges of our time and shaped poli cy and public debates.\n\nPanel 1: International Hostile State Actors\n\ nChair: Prof Stephen Hutchings\, Professor of Russian Studies\, Universi ty of Manchester\n\nPanellist: Dr AIiaksandr Herasimenka\, Lecturer in D ata Science\, Communication and Media\, University of Liverpool\n\nPanel list: Dr Nayana Prakash\, Consultant Researcher at the IPPR & a Research Affiliate at the Minderoo Centre for Technology and Democracy\n\nPanell ist: Mr Vit Nagurnijs\, Senior Analyst in FIMI and Domestic Threats\, Ex Trac AI\n\nSince the 2008 financial crisis\, we have witnessed a burgeon ing crisis in the functioning of both global capitalism and the liberal democratic governance systems with which it is (contestably) associated. As the western nations championing them sink into decline\, along with the global institutions whose establishment those nations oversaw\, a po werful new axis of authoritarian states has risen to challenge and ultim ately reshape the geopolitical order. Free of attachment to a single ide ology yet fully plugged into the same vast digital networks as their adv ersaries\, they opportunistically exploit the divisions in democratic so cieties to this end. They also strive to align with intra-democratic pop ulist insurgencies epitomised by\, but by no means restricted to\, the T rump phenomenon. At the same time neoliberal economics have given birth to ‘big tech’ platforms with seemingly unassailable transnational reach and a business model driven by the logic of affect and sensation rather than truth and reason.\n\nThis panel focuses on the threat posed by host ile foreign state disinformation actors in the context of this disorient ing nexus. It seeks to assess the level of the threat to democracy that they pose\, the techniques that they employ\, and the kinds of intervent ions that might impede them.\n\nPanel 2: Misinformation\, Disinformation \, and Home Grown Online Influence\n\nChair: Prof Peter Knight\, Profess or of American Studies\, University of Manchester\n\nPanellist: Dr Katy Brown\, Research Fellow in Language and Social Justice\, Manchester Metr opolitan University\n\nPanellist: Blyth Crawford\, Project Manager\, Moo nshot\n\nPanellist: Allysa Czerwinsky\, Research Fellow in AI Trust and Security\, University of Manchester\n\nIn an era where digital platforms shape everyday social\, cultural\, and political life\, online misinfor mation and hate speech have become pervasive\, destabilising forces. Whi le much public debate focuses on state sponsored information manipulatio n and Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI)\, this ro undtable shifts the lens toward the home grown ecosystem of misinformati on\, locally generated conspiracy theories\, extremist narratives\, and toxic online subcultures.\n\nThis panel addresses how grassroots mis/dis information\, polarising influencers\, and algorithmically amplified hat e speech collectively contribute to a fragmented and hostile online envi ronment. The goal is to map the current threat landscape\, examine the s ociotechnical mechanisms that enable harmful narratives to spread\, and explore practical interventions—educational\, policy driven\, and platfo rm based—that can mitigate domestic online harms.\n\nJoin us for a day o f thought provoking discussion\, networking\, and collaborative explorat ion as we work together to build a more trustworthy digital future.\n\nR egistration link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1986195770015?aff=oddtd tcreator STATUS:TENTATIVE TRANSP:TRANSPARENT CLASS:PUBLIC END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR