Presentations, talks & workshops
The Disinformation Project team have presented research to both academic and community institutions. Public intellectualism is an important component of our research as disinformation can influence a wide spectrum of areas, including inciting racism, xenophobia, culture wars, and can affect politics through the mobilization of populism.
Presentations & academic conferences
- A. Al-Rawi delivered a workshop entitled âMisinformation: Concepts, fact checking, and impactâ for high school teachers, librarians, and educators. Professional Development Day. Prince of Wales Secondary School, Vancouver, British Columbia. May 16, 2025.
- A. Al-Rawi. "Misinformation and its impact". A public talk at Richmond Public Library - Community Conversation series. Richmond, B.C., Canada. May 5, 2025.
- A. Al-Rawi. âDisruptive Information & how to counter itâ virtual lecture series, Island Health Palliative Medicine Grand Rounds. Vancouver Island, British Columbia. March 18, 2025.
- A. Al-Rawi. âDisruptive information in Canadaâ. The main speaker in the Roundtable discussion organized by the Canadian Association for Security and Intelligence Studies (CASIS). Vancouver, Canada. January 16, 2025.
- A. Al-Rawi. ââThat's True, Isn't It?' - Identifying and Countering the Misuse of Informationâ online talk. Non-Academic Staff Association (NASA), the University of Alberta. December 3, 2024.
- A. Al-Rawi. âGlobal health & misinformationâ. In the Knowledge Centre Global Health (KCGHâs) Symposium âNavigating Truths: Demystifying Mis- and Disinformation in (Global) Healthâ. Utrecht, The Netherlands. November 27, 2024.
- A. Al-Rawi. âDisruptive Information in the Canadian Information Spaceâ. The 2024 West Coast Security Conference. Vancouver, BC, Canada. November 19, 2024.
- A. Al-Rawi. âProactive monitoring of social media to counter misinformation: Narratives on avian influenza A (H5N1) on Instagram and Facebookâ [Poster presentation]. With Lee, K., Ackah, B. B. B., & Fakida, A. BCCDCâs 17th Annual Research Symposium, Vancouver, BC, Canada. October 28 - November 1, 2024.
- A. Al-Rawi participated as a panelist in an online webinar organized by the National Capital FreeNet (NCF) âMisinformation, Disinformation and Fake Newsâ. October 29, 2024.
- A. Al-Rawi gave a talk entitled âThe Weaponization of Misinformationâ. Higher seminar series, Journalism Department, SĂśdertĂśrn University, Stockholm, Sweden. May 2, 2024.
- A. Al-Rawi delivered a lecture entitled âFact checking techniquesâ to high school students enrolled in a Psychology course. Vancouver Technical Secondary School, Vancouver, British Columbia. May 1, 2024.
- A. Al-Rawi delivered a workshop on misinformation for high school teachers and educators. Professional Development Day. Magee Secondary School, Vancouver, British Columbia. April 23, 2024.
- A. Al-Rawi delivered a workshop on misinformation for high school teachers and educators. Professional Development Day. Sir Charles Tupper Secondary School, Vancouver, British Columbia. February 16, 2024.
- A. Al-Rawi. âMisinformation, Surveillance, & Trolling on/in the Middle Eastâ. Public Lecture at the Fifth Annual International Winter School -Social Media, Surveillance, and Societies of Control. Arab Center for Research & Policy Studies, Doha, Qatar. January 7, 2024.
- A. Al-Rawi delivered a workshop to high school teachers on misinformation in Canada. Professional Development Day. Vancouver Technical Secondary School, British Columbia. September 22, 2023.
- Ahmed Al-Rawi served as a panelist in âHow can we deal with hate on the Internet?â. Online Hate, Media (Mis)Representation, and Systemic Racism Conference. Toronto Metropolitan University, Ted Rogers School of Management, Diversity Institute. June 23, 2023.
- A. Al-Rawi. âThe Weaponization and Discourses of Misinformation in Facebook Adsâ. In âFake News, Misinformation, and All That Junk: What We See and Why Some Believeâ. International Communication Association Conference (ICA), Toronto, Canada. May 26, 2023.
- A. Al-Rawi served as a panelist in âPolarization, Populism and Post-Truthâ session. In âOur Whole Society: Finding Common Ground in a Time of Polarizationâ Conference, Wilfrid Laurier University & Martin Luther University College. Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. May 8, 2023.
- A. Al-Rawi served as a discussant and moderator for the âThe Domestic Disinformation Dilemmaâ panel, âThe Weaponization of Disinformation in Canadaâ Workshop. University of Waterloo, Cyber Security & Privacy Institute, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. April 28, 2023.
- A. Al-Rawi. âThe networked trolling of critical journalists and news organizations in Iraqâ. Online Symposium on Digital Threats against Journalists. Organized by the Journalism Safety Research Network (JSRN), the Centre for Freedom of the Media (CFOM), & the Department of Journalism Studies at the University of Sheffield, UK. March 28, 2023.
- Chris Tenove, A. Al-Rawi et al. âShooting the Messenger: Forms and Impacts of Reputational Attacks on Journalistsâ. in the Online Symposium on Digital Threats against Journalists. The Journalism Safety Research Network (JSRN) et al. (see above), the University of Sheffield, UK. March 28, 2023.
- A. Al-Rawi participated as a panelist in the âDemocracy in Crisisâ panel, 2023 CIVIX Democracy Bootcamp, Vancouver, Canada, March 2, 2023.
- A. Al-Rawi presented a guest lecture on âMisinformation in/on Canadaâ. Library & Learning Centre, Douglas College. Westminster, December 15, 2022.
- A. Al-Rawi. âMisinformation, mobilization, & violenceâ. The Canadian Network for Research on Terrorism, Security, and Society (TSAS) Gala Conference, Ottawa, Ontario, October 13, 2022.
- A. Al-Rawi. âTrolling the Messenger: How state-run Disinformation weaponizes the public sphereâ. Informação/Information: VII Congresso Internacional de Comunicação, Jornalismo e Espaço PĂşblico| VII International Congress on Communication, Journalism and Public Sphere. Coimbra University, Coimbra, Portugal, July 15, 2022.
- A. Al-Rawi & Devan Prithipaul, "The Publicâs Appropriation of Multimodal Discourses of Fake News on Social Media". Pre - International Communication Association Conference (Pre-ICA), Post-Truth and Affective Publicsâ Challenges to Social Ties. Disinformation, Populism, Data-Driven Propaganda. Centre for Research on Mediations (CREM), UniversitĂŠ de Lorraine, Metz, France. May 25, 2022.
- A. Al-Rawi delivered a lecture entitled "Misinformation in the Middle East". The Media & Digital Academy of Beirut (MDLAB), the Lebanese American University, Beirut, May 21, 2022.
- A. Al-Rawi delivered a workshop for academics entitled "Practical research toolkits and guides to research misinformation". The Media & Digital Academy of Beirut (MDLAB), the Lebanese American University, Beirut, May 21, 2022.
- A. Al-Rawi, Nicole Stewart, Carmen Celestini, & Nathan Worku. âDelegitimizing the Legitimate: Dark Social Movements on Telegramâ. with . The Canadian Communication Association (CCA), the Canadian Congress for Social Sciences and Humanities, May 19, 2022.
- A. Al-Rawi. âTopic modelling of Far-right Canadiansâ tweets on COVID-19â. Navigating Information and Race in the Era of COVID-19 Symposium. York University, Toronto, Canada. May 3, 2022.
- A. Al-Rawi participated as a panelist in the "Disinformation on social media during the COVID-19 pandemic: Prevalence and journalistic challenges". The panel discussion was organized by the Rogers Chair in Studies in Journalism and New Information Technology, Western University, Ontario. April 28, 2022.
- Carmen Celestini gave a talk at Montclair State University on "Angry Religion: The Rise of American Theocracy". Part 3: The Phenomenal Rise of Conspiracy Theories. April 28, 2022.
- A. Al-Rawi gave a talk on disinformation and COVID-19 at the Communications Department of Vancouver Coastal Health. March 28, 2022.
- A. Al-Rawi served as a panelist in the "Digital Disinformation and Right-Wing Extremism" Webinar. Concordia University, Department of Communication Studies. February 24, 2022.
- A. Al-Rawi, Nathan Worku, Carmen Celestini, and Nicole Stewart. âDark Participation on BitChute by the Canadian Far-Right Extremistsâ. Hating on Social Media Symposium at the Centre on Hate, Bias, and Extremism, Ontario Tech University. February 7-10, 2022.
- A. Al-Rawi participated as a panelist in the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) Expert Rountable on âVideo Games and Violent Extremismâ. December 6, 2021.
- A. Al-Rawi participated as a panelist in the Roundtable on alt-right in Canada event. Concordia University, Montreal. December 3, 2021.
- A. Al-Rawi, Carmen Celestini, Nicole Stewart, and Nathan Worku. âHow Google autocomplete algorithms mainstream hate and mislead the public?â. The Media/Culture Journal special issue Workshop- âConspiracyâ. Federation University Australia. November 28, 2021.
- A. Al-Rawi delivered a plenary speaker presentation as part of the Educational Speakers Series organized by Toronto Public Library and CanAge entitled âFake News: Identify and Ignoreâ. November 23, 2021.
- A. Al-Rawi participated as a panelist in the âDigital Media Literacy in Canadaâ, Media Literacy Week 2021, MediaSmarts. October 28, 2021.
- A. Al-Rawi, âDisinformation under a networked authoritarian state: Saudi trollsâ credibility attacks against Jamal Khashoggiâ. The 3rd Multidisciplinary International Symposium on Disinformation in Open Online Media. MISDOOM. The Oxford Internet Institute, Oxford University, UK. September 21-22, 2021.
- A. Al-Rawi, âForeign interference in the Canadian electionsâ. CIVIXâs 2021 Democracy Bootcamp. Democracy, Disinformation and Social Media: Sorting through Political Messaging in Canada. August 25, 2021.
- A. Al-Rawi, âDisinformation discourses in Canadian news mediaâ. with Joseph Nicolai. The Canadian Communication Association, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. June 4, 2021.
- A. Al-Rawi, âThe weaponizing of fake news in the Facebook ads targeting Canadiansâ with Abdelrahman Fakida. The 71st Annual ICA Conference, Engaging the Essential Work of Care. May 27-31, 2021.
- A. Al-Rawi, âCovid-19 in North America: Managing the risks of discrimination of marginalized populationsâ with Lea Hellmueller. Panel on Cross-Cultural Approaches to Identifying Pressures on Journalists Covering COVID-19: A Project of the Global Risk Journalism Hub. The 71st Annual ICA Conference, Engaging the Essential Work of Care. May 27-31, 2021.
- A. Al-Rawi, âDisinformation and bad actorsâ, Canadian Science Policy Pre-Conference - Building Bridges between Science, Policy and Society- Limiting the Impact of Misinformation and Disinformation; Planning, Recognition, and Response, Ottawa, Canada. November 3-15, 2020.
- A. Al-Rawi, âInstagramâs memes on fake news,â the 70th Annual ICA Conference, Open Communication, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. May 21-25, 2020.
- A. Al-Rawi, âKekâs memes war on Instagramâ, the 70th ICA preconference - Visual Politics: Image Production, Perception, and Influence, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. May 21, 2020.
- A. Al-Rawi, âRussian Trollsâ Representation of Islam on Social Mediaâ. Centre for Comparative Muslim Studies, 91ĹÝÜ˝, Vancouver. November 7, 2019.
- A. Al-Rawi, âFacts or Fiction? Misinformation, Media and the Canadian Electionâ, SFU Public Square, Strengthening Canadian Democracy Initiative, Vancouver Public Library. October 17, 2019.
- A. Al-Rawi, âFake news on Instagramâ, the 1st Tsinghua TransCultural Communication Roundtable. Transcultural Solidarities across Global Divides: Histories, Institutions and Agencies. Future Media Lab, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China. October 12, 2019.
- A. Al-Rawi, "Fake news in Canada" at âFake vs. Fact: A Free Journalism Workshop Seriesâ. New Canadian Media & the Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue, 91ĹÝÜ˝, Vancouver. September 28, 2019.
- A. Al-Rawi, "Fake news and the war on truth" at âFake vs. Fact: A Free Journalism Workshop Seriesâ. New Canadian Media & the School of Journalism, Mount Royal University, Calgary. September 27, 2019.
- A. Al-Rawi, âManufacturing rage: The Russian Internet Research Agencyâs political astroturfing on social mediaâ, with Anis Rahman, the Canadian Communication Association, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. June 3-6, 2019.
- A. Al-Rawi, "Fake news discourses on Instagram", 91ĹÝÜ˝âs Public Square event âConfronting the Disinformation Age: 2019 Community Summit- Innovations in Researchâ. April 10, 2019.
- A. Al-Rawi, âTopic modelling & fake news discourses on MSM vs. SNSâ. Symposium on Public Discourse and Data Science, Big Data Hub, 91ĹÝÜ˝, Burnaby, Canada. October 12, 2018.
- A. Al-Rawi, "What the fake? An analysis of online media dissemination and the bot-assisted amplification of fake newsâ. In Internet, Politics, Policy 2018: Long Live Democracy? St Anne's College, University of Oxford, UK. September 20-21, 2018.
Other activities
- Ahmed Al-Rawi guest edited a journal special issue on Mis/Disinformation in/on Canada for the Global Media Journal - Canadian edition in 2022. See details .
- A. Al-Rawi served as a member in the Advisory Committee of the Vaccination, Misinformation and Digital Media Project, {refugee613} from April 2022 until March 2023.
- Carmen Celestini was invited to the Canadian House of Commons as an expert witness. The Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security (SECU), 44th Parliament, 1st Session. Rise of Ideologically Motivated Violent Extremism in Canada. April 28, 2022.
- Ahmed Al-Rawi was invited to the Canadian House of Commons as an expert witness. The Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security (SECU), 44th Parliament, 1st Session. Assessment of Canadaâs Security Posture in Relation to Russia. April 5, 2022.
- A. Al-Rawi participated as a disinformation expert in the Climate Change 2050: National Climate Change Science Plan, Science Communication & Knowledge Mobilization Roundtable, co-hosted by Environment and Climate Change Canada. March 9, 2022.
- A. Al-Rawi participated in the MediaSmarts online symposium to create a digital media literacy strategy in Canada. "From Access to Engagement: A Digital Media Literacy Strategy for Canada". February 9, 2022.
- A. Al-Rawi guest edited a journal issue on Disinformation in the Middle East for the journal in late 2021.
- A. Al-Rawi served as an expert in developing the Canadian Association of Journalistsâ training course âMisinfo 101: How to identify and report on misinformationâ in late 2021.
- A. Al-Rawi participated with a number of cognitive scientists in the SciBeh 2020 Virtual Workshop on "Building an online information environment for policy relevant science"- Combatting COVID-19 misinformation with lessons from climate change denial, 9-10 November, 2020.