Symposium CfP on election disinformation
Robbie Fordyce
Symposium Call for Presentations:
Australian Democracy and Disinformation in 2026
Australian elections are contested in more languages, on more platforms, and across more communities than ever before. The future of disinformation will be diverse, and its management will need to be inclusive.
The RECapture Research Lab is issuing this call for presentations at a two-day symposium held at Deakin Downtown across the 23rd and 24th of September 2026, in advance of the Victorian state election in November.
The symposium connects practitioners with researchers to form impactful pathways for current and future work. Day 1 will include presentations from government and NGO sector experts who have interest or responsibility regarding election processes in Australia. Day 2 will include academic research presentations on disinformation through an empirical lens.
Individual academic submissions should include an abstract of 150-250 words. Panel proposals will be considered, with a 150-word summary of the panel theme and a 100-word abstract for each individual presentation. Panels should ideally represent a variety of career stages, and cultural or institutional backgrounds across the presenters.
Our priority topic areas include, but are not limited to, the below:
Empirical studies of disinformation campaigns or disinformation resistance campaigns;
Case studies, narrative work, critical inquiry, etc.;
Methods for studying disinformation;
Identification, analysis, source detection, verification, etc.;
Regulatory and civic innovations;
Whether cultural, legal, social, or otherwise;
Techniques for disinformation intervention, before or during a disinformation event;
Including campaigns, community advice, support and reporting techniques, and beyond.
While our research sits in a critical disinformation studies framework (Kuo and Marwick 2021; Yang et al. 2025a, 2025b) we welcome contributions from allied studies that approach information problems using different frameworks and traditions. The symposium is interested in the contexts of Australia's State and Federal Election system, and we also seek to learn from cases outside Australia's government democratic systems and/or from outside electoral contexts.
The symposium organising committee is Dr Robbie Fordyce, Dr Luke Heemsbergen, and Dr Fan Yang, and is generously supported by Monash Faculty of Arts, Deakin’s Digital Life Lab, and Melbourne Law School.
Due to the sensitive nature of the research area, online participation will be limited to those with specific accessibility needs. Non-presenting attendance will be subject to available space.
Abstracts (150-250 words) and short bio (50 words) are to be sent to: yan...@unimelb.edu.au. Please include “[ADD2026]” in the subject line to ensure your email is easily identified.
Key dates:Event location:
Deakin Downtown, Melbourne, Australia: https://maps.app.goo.gl/pLVJQ7VXXN4w84mK8
Robbie Fordyce
Dear colleagues,
Apologies for cross-posting.
This email is to remind interested parties that the CfP for the Australian Democracy and Disinformation 2026 Symposium will be closing in one week, on the 31st of July.
Thank you to those who have already submitted abstracts.
Please see the details below.
Best regards,
Robbie Fordyce
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