Keynotes
Tine Ustad Figenschou
Tine Ustad Figenschou is a professor of journalism at Oslo Metropolitan University (Oslo Met) and an expert on far-right alternative media. She focuses on digital news criticism, editorial strategies of alternative media, institutional responses to new digital media, and alternative media users. Figenschou co-leads the Digital Journalism Research group and heads the PhD program at OsloMet’s Department of Journalism and Media. A trained journalist with an MA and PhD in media studies, she has guest-edited two special issues on alternative media in Digital Journalism. Her previous work includes international broadcasting, mediatized conflicts, and government-journalism relations. She is also involved in the FREXO project on far-right politics online and societal resilience.
Walter Quattrociocchi
Walter Quattrociocchi is a Full Professor at Sapienza University of Rome, where he leads the Center of Data Science and Complexity for Society (CDCS). His research interests encompass data science, network science, cognitive science, and data-driven modeling of dynamic processes in complex networks and he has an extensive publication record in peer-reviewed conferences and journals, including Nature and PNAS. His research on misinformation spreading has informed the Global Risk Report 2016 and 2017 of the World Economic Forum and this work has been extensively covered by international media. Professor Quattrociocchi has published three books.
In 2017, he coordinated the round table on Fake News and the role of Universities and Research in countering fake news, chaired by the President of Italy’s Chamber of Deputies, Mrs. Laura Boldrini. In 2018, he served as the scientific advisor to the Italian Communication Authority (AGCOM), and in 2020, he was a member of the Task Force to Counter Hate Speech, appointed by the Minister of Innovation. Recently, he has been one of the Principal Investigators of the IRIS research coalition (UK/G7) focused on combating misinformation related to vaccine hesitancy and climate change.
In 2023, he was appointed to the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) by the US State Department on the topic of Data-Driven Policies. Professor Quattrociocchi is regularly invited to deliver keynote speeches and guest lectures at major academic institutions and other organizations.
Invited Speakers
Jean-Christophe Boucher
Jean-Christophe Boucher is an Associate Professor at the School of Public Policy and the Department of Political Science at the University of Calgary. His current work focuses on applied machine learning to understand how the digital world shapes society. He is a Fulbright Scholar and is currently responsible for projects funded by the Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) to understand civil-military relations in Canada; Heritage Canada to study Chinese information manipulation. He holds a BA in History from the University of Ottawa, an MA in Philosophy from the Université de Montréal and a Ph.D. in Political Science from Université Laval. He specializes in international relations, emphasizing foreign policy, international security, and data analytics.
Jānis Karlsbergs
Jānis Karlsbergs is the senior policy and publications manager in the NATO StratCom Centre of Excellence based in Riga, Latvia. In his previous post he was the Undersecretary of State for Policy in the Latvia’s Ministry of Defence (MoD). Before he was Undersecretary for Armaments and Undersecretary for Defence Planning. He has worked as Defence Councillor within the Latvia’s mission to OSCE in Vienna, and later he was the Head of the Latvia’s MoD Representation to NATO and EU. During that time he also was Co-chairman to the NATO Committee on Proliferation and Latvia Special Advisor to Georgia on defence reforms and NATO integration. He has graduated the U.S. Army War College as the Master of Strategic Studies and International Security Policy course in Geneva Centre for Security Policy. He has earned his BA in History and Philosophy from the University of Latvia. Jānis speaks Latvian, English, Russian, German, and French.
Kyoko Kuwahara
Kyoko Kuwahara specializes in public diplomacy, strategic communications, disinformation and soft power strategies. She is a research fellow at the Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA). She served as an officer at the Office for Strategic Communication Hub at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan before joining the JIIA. Her most recent published books are about public diplomacy and disinformation including Disinformation Warfare: The War in Your Heads (Japanese) (2023).
Ofer Fridman
Dr Ofer Fridman is a Senior Lecturer in War Studies, King’s College London and Director of Operations at Sympodium Institute for Strategic Communications. Ofer’s research focuses on the intersection between strategic communications, influence and information operations, strategic studies and contemporary conflicts, with particular focus on Russia. Ofer’s recent books include: Russian Hybrid Warfare: Resurgence and Politicisation (OUP, 2022), Strategiya: The Foundations of the Russian Art of Strategy (OUP, 2021), Info-Ops: From World War One to the Twitter Era co-edited with Vitaly Kabernik and Francesca Granelli (Lynne Rienner, 2022), and Deciphering Russian Enigma: In 15 Questions and 30 Answers co-authored with Vera Michlin-Shapir (Palgrave, 2024).
