Convention on Information and Democracy

 April 30 and May 1 2026


This convention is organised in partnership with the Center for Countering Digital Hate, and brings together many leading practitioners and academic researchers to discuss the media infrastructure required for citizens of European countries to have the reliable information they need to make informed democratic choices.

The convention will explore how well our information ecosystems are serving citizens, how vulnerable they are to interference by anti-democratic saboteurs, and how their resilience might be improved.

Participants will look at the effectiveness of different interventions to enable citizens to improve the quality of the information they receive, and how to avoid any measure that might endanger freedom of speech, all with an eye towards finding practical initiatives that can be taken to make democracies more resilient to information interference.

Organisers and Programme

This convention will be hosted at LSE and is organised by LSE Psychological and Behavioural Science and LSE Innovation in partnership with the Center for Countering Digital Hate. 

 

Day 1 (Thursday: 30/04/2026): Scope of the challenge

 09.30-10:00: Coffee and introductions

 10.00-10.45: Current Policy Landscape and COMCENSUS exercise

11.00-12.30: Individual papers: The scope of the misinformation challenge

12.30-13.30: Lunch

13.30-14.30: Discussion session: Are there any academic theories that inspire how you engage with your work, and if not, do you have your own ideas on what is driving misinformation that you would like academics to explore?

Panellists:

14.30-15.00: Coffee

15.00-16.30: Individual papers: Measuring and countering misinformation

16.30-17.30: Keynote:

 

Day 2 (Friday: 01/05/2026): Engagement with the challenge

09.00-09.15: Coffee and introductions

09.15-10.00: Keynote:

10.00-11.00: Efficiency versus effectiveness: Panel discussion of potential to turn academic insights into workable and impactful interventions

Panellists:

11.00-11.20: Coffee

11.20-13.00: Individual papers: Modelling complex information systems

13.00-14.00:

Keynote:

14.00-15.00: Lunch

15.00-16.40: Individual papers: Applying scientific solutions to the challenge

16.40-18.00: Keynote:

18.00-18.30: Closing remarks (Jens Koed Madsen)

18.30-19.30: Reception on LSE terrace

 

 

Keynote Speakers

Panel Discussions

 

Papers presented

 

 

 

 

Comcensus

Alongside the live events, the convention will employ Comcensus, an innovative new digital tool designed by Dr Daniele Fanelli (LSE Methodology) to make discussions more revealing, credible and insightful.

https://comcensus.org/index.php

Venue and Contact Information

 

Venue:

The Centre Building Auditorium, 

The Centre Building

LSE

Houghton Street

London WC2A 2AE

Contact: 

Sonja Belkin S.Belkin@lse.ac.uk