[Air-L] Social Media and Society in India Apr 4-5, full schedule

[Joyojeet Pal]

Dear Friends,

Please consider forwarding this to students or colleagues who may find it
interesting. It's free for anyone who registers, and accepted papers get a
grant to present in person in Michigan.

Warmly, Joyojeet


*****

We are excited to invite you to the *Social Media & Society in India
Symposium (SMSI 2025)*  taking place on April 4-5, 2025 at the University
of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Even if you do not do work in India, take a look at
the exciting list of topics, some of which speak to how social media is
impacting society everywhere around the world, and it's free to view online
for anyone who registers!

The conference is running in its 5th iteration and has in the past featured
an unique blend of speakers, who are typically practitioners and
professionals.This year's symposium brings together leading journalists,
digital activists, researchers, and media professionals to explore the
evolving role of social media in democracy, activism, business, and
representation in India.

*What to Expect*

   - *Panels & Talks* - The symposium will comprise of 5 sessions over two
   days, featuring lightning talks and moderated discussions. Day 1 (April 4)
   of the symposium will feature panels related to the theme of Citizenship
   and Democracy and Day 2 (April 5) will feature panels centred around the
   Social and Economic Aspects of social media platforms.
   - *Student Research Session* - Day 2 will also feature a session with
   poster presentations by student researchers on various aspects of Social
   Media and Society
   - *1:1 Office Hours and Interactions * - A chance to set up 10 minute
   zoom appointments with your favourite speakers at the conference
   - *AI & Social Media Workshop* – Day 2 will feature a workshop on
   “Integrating state-of-the-art AI tools in Social Media work” led by Dr.
   Kiran Garimella

📌 View Program Schedule & Speakers
<https://joyojeet.people.si.umich.edu/program.html>

*Register Now*
🔗 The conference is open for registration for both in-person and online
attendees: Sign Up Here
<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe46Yskja8W9ZioyB0tACF4WzqriHp9LPI083BypGZvzEUMwg/viewform?usp=dialog>
🌐 Symposium Website <https://joyojeet.people.si.umich.edu/influencers.htm>

We look forward to thought-provoking discussions and meaningful exchanges.
See a full list of the talks below.


*April 4, 2025*
April 4: 9:00 - 9:15 (EDT) Opening Remarks Madhumita Lahiri, Director,
Center for South Asia Studies

*April 4: 9:15 - 11:15 (EDT) Session 1: Politics, Propaganda, and Public
Opinion*
*Ashok Lahiri* - *Campaign Management & Social Media*
*Nilesh Christopher* - *Deepfakes and the 2024 Election: Pipelines of
Creation, Use and Detection*
*Kunal Majumder* - *The physical and virtual dangers to local journalists
in an age of Social Media: Cases from India*
*Neha Dixit* - *Framing Indian public discourse: Why gender lens in media
and politics is essential*
*Ayushi Kar* - *The Use of Customized Mobile Apps for Outreach and Campaign
Management in India*
*HV Jagadish* - Chair

*April 4: 11:30 - 1:30 (EDT) Session 2: Digital Activism and Social Justice*
*Raqib Naik* - *Digital Hate, Physical Consequences: How Online Hate and
Extremism translates into real world violence*
*Padmapriya Janakiraman* - *Claiming Rights in Cinema Today: Introspecting
Rights in Malayalam Cinema*
*Suchitra Vijayan* - *Mechanics of Digital Colonialism*
*Arjun Sethi* - *The Empire strikes back: India's evolving response to
popular diaspora advocacy on X*
*Makepeace Sitlhou* - *Manipur conflict on social media amidst internet
shutdown*
*Aditya Vashishta* - Chair

*April 4: 3:00 - 5:00 (EDT) Session 3: Media, Representation, and Criticism*
*Makarand Paranjape* - *Space for Criticism in India*
*Ramit Verma (Peeing Human)* - *Satire or History - The Indian Mystery*
*Nidhi Suresh* - *Women, Trauma & Criminal Justice: Examining the Coverage
of Sexual Violence in Digital News*
*Bhanupriya Rao* - *Erosion of Equality: Gender Rights in Shifting
Democracies*
*Sambhaji Bhagat* - *Music and Activism in Offline and Online days*
*Ram Mahalingam* - Chair



*April 5, 2025*

*April 5: 8:00 - 10:00 (EDT) Research Papers*
*Gazal Shekhawat* (London School of Economics and Political Science) -
*Platformising
Weddings, Obfuscating Arrange-ments: Questions about desi digital
enclosures*
*Sejal Khurana, Suhani Mathur, Paro Mishra* (Indraprastha Institute of
Information Technology, Delhi) - *Old Wine In a New Bottle: Indian
Momfluencers Performing New Momism on Instagram*
*Kartikeya Reddy *(Hertie School) - *Celluloid campaigners: Hindi cinema
characters as conduits for political messaging*
*Jaya Mathur* (Jawaharlal Nehru University & Centre for the Study of
Developing Societies) - *On Psychotherapy, Psychotherapists, & Psy-Speak:
Reflections on Social Media Expertise and Psychologisation in India*
*Sonia Kumari* (Indira Gandhi National Open University) - *Influencers from
low-income groups: Some notes from the field*
*Dhruv Raghavan* (Brown University) - *The Evolving Landscape of Indian
Political Interviewing*
*Riccardo Campana *(Bennett University & Ca' Foscari University of Venice)
- *Political influencers and Ayodhya Temple inauguration: a new way to do
politics*

*April 5: 10:00 - 12:00** (EDT) **Session 4: The Business and Power of
Influence*
*Viraj Sheth* - *The Psychology of Relevance: Rise and Fall in the
fast-paced Influencing lifestyle*
*Ria Chopra* - *The Treasure in Small Data: Rethinking the ways influencing
is analyzed in India*
*Steph Ann Tomy* - *Making Light of Everyday Situations*
*Pratik Sinha* - *The Economy and Ecosystem of Information Verification in
India*
*Pranav Malhotra* - Chair

April 5:   12:00 - 2:00 Lunch Workshop
*Integrating state-of-the-art AI tools in social media work*
Dibyendu Mishra, Soham De and Kiran Garimella

*April 5: **2:00 - 4:00 **(EDT) **Session 5: Social Media, Local Voices,
and Changing Narratives*
*Sonam Wangchuk* - *Online Glaciers: Moving the dial on Climate Activism in
India*
*Tanzil Asif* - *Hyperlocal and Rural Journalism in India: Evidence from
Bihar*
*Santosh Jadhav* - *Influencing through Agricultural Content: The case of
Indian Farmer in Maharashtra*
*Siddhesh Gautam* - *Art side of the moon: Aesthetics of Ambedkarism*
*Sucharita Tyagi *- *Speaking Truth to Cinema: When Criticism is an act of
resistance*
*Bilal Butt* - Chair