Broadcaster Babita Sharma explores the impact of disinformation

Journalist and Cardiff University alumna Babita Sharma (BA 1998) is to explore the impact of disinformation and the latest research being carried out to understand it.

A distinguished broadcaster and award-winning author with more than 15 years of experience at the BBC, she will be joined by members of Cardiff University’s Security, Crime and Intelligence Innovation Institute (SCIII) for the discussion on October 23.

Professor Martin Innes, Professor Kate Daunt and research associate Bella Orpen will also be at the event, talking about their latest academic research.

Babita said: “Misinformation. Disinformation. Fake News. These are urgent and significant challenges of our modern times. Throughout my career as a journalist and broadcaster, I’ve seen first-hand the harmful impact that their spread can have.

“This event with Cardiff University researchers will give us the opportunity to directly address our shared concerns.”

Professor Martin Innes, co-lead director of SCIII, said: “Disinformation is information which, when communicated is designed to deliberately mislead someone about the facts. It matters because of the way it impacts our trust in institutions but also our trust in each other. It’s changing the social ordering of reality and therefore poses a serious threat to democracy. We’ve got major elections taking place around the world and global conflicts, all of which are being shaped and altered by the ways in which disinformation is entering the social system.

“I hope that people coming along to this event with Babita Sharma will go away with a much better understanding of the scale of disinformation, as well as the work that is being done to tackle it.”

Babita recently presented the podcast series, Whose Truth? which explores the impact of disinformation about COVID-19, misogyny, climate change and the war in Ukraine. Her journalism career includes covering major global events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 US elections, and the Black Lives Matter protests, which earned her the Asian Achievement Award.

Professor Innes is a world expert in the understanding of disinformation and leads a major international research programme to understand the causes and consequences of distorting and deceptive digital communications.

The event, Navigating Disinformation - Who Should We Trust? Takes place at Cardiff University’s Centre for Student Life. To book a free place, click here.