On the 3rd and 4th of June 2024, DE-CONSPIRATOR project organised its first research methods workshop on Foreign Information and Manipulation Interference (FIMI). The workshop was held at Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) premises in Brussels, and attracted a big number of disinformation experts, FIMI scholars, as well as post-doc researchers interested in the field.
The workshop was structured around 4 sessions, with high-level keynote speakers discussing a range of FIMI-related topics:
- Session – 1: Theoretical and Policy Approaches to FIMI
- Session – 2: Psychological Drivers of FIMI
- Session – 3: Societal and Demographic Correlates of FIMI Vulnerability
- Session – 4: Computational / Big-Data Approaches to FIMI
Moreover, the project hosted two keynote speeches: James Pamment discussed the concept of psychological defence, while Massimo Flore delivered a talk about “How the West Was Won and Where It Got Us”.
A wide spectrum of topics were discussed during the two-day workshop. Participants reflected on the role of computational and big data studies of FIMI, exploring the diffusion and tracking of online influence campaigns across a variety of cases; they discussed the social and collective meso-level analysis of FIMI exposure and vulnerability; and they argued on recent research on psychological, cognitive and behavioral correlates of information vulnerability. Most case-studies that were selected covered Eastern and Southern Europe, as well as Caucasus, where Russia-driven FIMI is quite evident.
As the project is entering its second semester, the workshop’s completion is another milestone in the establishment of solid a conceptual and methodological basis for the upcoming empirical research, entailing archival work and data collection.
DE-CONSPIRATOR works to de-conspire FIMI efforts, making a significant contribution to the defenders community. You can get in contact with us and help us in our efforts.