[Air-L] Defending Scholars at Cambridge Disinformation Summit

[Dr. Emma Briant]

Dear Colleagues,

I am just writing to *share with you the video*
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-M9lhTm-7f0> from the panel on Managing
Threats to Researchers I organized for the recent Cambridge Disinformation
Summit. The panel featured the varied experiences and expertise from:

   - *Emma L Briant - Visiting Associate Professor at University of Notre
   Dame *
   - *Alice Marwick - Director of Research at Data and Society*
   - *Mutale Nkonde - PhD Student at University of Cambridge, founder of AI
   for the People*
   - *Julia Ebner - Leader of the Violent Extremism Lab at the University
   of Oxford's Centre for the Study of Social Cohesion and a Senior Research
   Fellow at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue*

Together we examined the major surge in risks and threats faced by
researchers and academics. We also took the opportunity to pre-launch *a
guide published by the Association of Internet Researchers for those
conducting 'Risky Research* <https://aoir.org/riskyresearchguide/>'. The
guide was spearheaded by one of the esteemed panel members, Alice Marwick,
and I contributed also to its writing, drawing on my own experiences.

The panel and AoIR’s Risky Research Guide were also prominently
featured in reporting
by Bloomberg
<https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2025-05-02/disinformation-experts-band-together-as-online-abuse-escalates?embedded-checkout=true>,
raising the public prominence of this key issue further. Their article also
highlights the experiences of some of our panellists. As it's behind a
paywall, I am including a snippet here but do subscribe to Bloomberg and
share their link, they are great :)

Thanks,

Emma

"Academics often feel too unsafe to speak about the threats they face
daily,” said Emma Briant, a visiting professor at the University of Notre
Dame focused on information warfare. “They feel very often that more
attacks will follow if they raise the alarm. That means a lot of people end
up fighting this battle alone.”

Instead, researchers speaking on an April 24 panel at the Cambridge
Disinformation Summit in the UK advocated for a more cooperative approach
in the face of such intimidation tactics.

The Association of Internet Researchers, a member-based support network,
posted online a guide for at-risk academics.

The advice includes how to respond to doxxing and strategies to document
their research in anticipation of potential lawsuits, subpoenas or Freedom
of Information Act requests from hostile critics trying to obtain
researchers’ emails.

In some cases, scholars have been accused of copying others’ work by
attackers who use artificial intelligence tools to compare their academic
papers to pre-existing findings. Minor inconsistencies, like an innocuous
error in a citation, can get amplified and damage the victim’s career.

“I had a politically motivated plagiarism audit,” said Julia Ebner, who
studies extremism at the University of Oxford. “It was really stressful
because you feel like your whole credibility is at stake.”



-- 
Dr Emma L Briant
Visiting Associate Professor at Notre Dame University
Fellow at Bard College, Human Rights Project
Associate at University of Cambridge, Center for Financial Reporting &
Accountability
Speaking agent: Chartwell Speakers
<https://www.chartwellspeakers.com/speaker/emma-briant/>
Book agent: Inkwell Management <https://inkwellmanagement.com/>
Author of: *Propaganda and Counter-Terrorism: Strategies for Global
Change *from
Manchester University Press
Co-Author of: *Bad News for Refugees* with Prof. Greg Philo and Dr. Pauline
Donald from Pluto Press.

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