Corneliu Bjola (PhD, University of Toronto) is an Associate Professor of Diplomatic Studies at the University of Oxford and the Head of the Oxford Digital Diplomacy Research Group. He is also a Faculty Fellow at the Center on Public Diplomacy at the University of Southern California and a Professorial Lecturer at the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna. His research focuses on the impact of digital technology on the conduct of diplomacy, with a special interest in public diplomacy, international negotiations, and methods for countering digital propaganda.

Claudia  Negri-Ribalta is a Ph.D. in computer science researcher and activist with formal education in computer science and political science. She holds a Ph.D. from Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne in requirements engineering, titled "STAP - Socio-Technical Data Protection framework for requirements with divergent mental models" under the supervision of Prof. Salinesi. Claudia is also the president of the Latin American NGO OptIA. She is a research associate at the IRiSC at the SnT, University of Luxembourg. Her research areas are data protection/privacy (broadly), computer science, requirement engineering, security (broadly), and regulatory bodies.

Anneli Kimber Lindwall is a strategic communication professional with twenty-two years of experience in the public and international development sectors in the European Union, United Kingdom and in the EU’s Eastern Neighbourhood. She has worked in Tallinn, London, Stockholm, Yerevan, Tbilisi, Chisinau, Kyiv and in Brussels for the European External Action Service. Professor Kimber is an author of two studies focusing on debunking disinformation and on improving EU communication in the Eastern Partnership countries. Currently she holds the position of campaigns manager at EU NEIGHBOURS EAST, the EU’s largest regional communication project in the Eastern Neighbourhood.

Joachim Koops (BA, LPC Oxon, MSc Turku, PhD Kiel) is a Board Member of the Global Governance Institute and a Senior Expert in the Peace and Security and Global Education sections. He is also Professor of Security Studies and Scientific Director of the Institute of Security and Global Affairs (ISGA) at Leiden University. Joachim’s research focuses on Global Security Governance, European foreign policy and diplomacy and inter-organizational relations in peace and security (including peacekeeping, peacebuilding, crisis management and the responsibility to protect) with particular emphasis on the role of the European Union, NATO and United Nations.

Ben O'Loughlin is Professor of International Relations at Royal Holloway, University of London. He is Director of the New Political Communication Unit, which was launched in 2007. Before joining Royal Holloway in September 2006 he was a researcher on the ESRC New Security Challenges Programme. He completed a DPhil in Politics at New College, Oxford in October 2005 under the supervision of the political theorist Elizabeth Frazer and journalist Godfrey Hodgson.Ben's expertise is in the field of international political communication. He was Specialist Adviser to the UK House of Lords Select Committee on Soft Power and UK Influence, producing the report Power and Persuasion in the Modern World(2014). The report drew extensively on O'Loughlin's work on strategic narrative and has impacted how policymakers communicate Britain's role in the world.

Camila Mont’Alverne is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, at the University of Oxford. Over the last three years, she worked at the Trust in News Project, investigating drivers and impacts of media trust in Brazil, India, the UK, and the US. She holds a PhD in Political Science from the Federal University of Paraná, Brazil, where she was a researcher at the Research Group on Media, Politics, and Technology (PONTE/UFPR). Her main research interests are in the area of Political Communication, focusing on Political Journalism, Media & Elections, and Internet & Politics.

Bruce Mutsvairo is a Professor is the Department of Media and Culture Studies at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. His research focuses on the development of journalism and political communication in non-Western contexts. He has written extensively on several topics related to these fields including the decolonization and de-Westernization of political communication.

Aayushi Liana Shah is a Learning Consultant, Teacher & Trainer at Leiden University’s Learning and Innovation Centre (LLInC). She previously worked at Leiden University as a Junior Lecturer in Security Studies, and as Project Officer at the Embassy of India in The Hague. She holds an M.Sc. in International Relations and Diplomacy. Aayushi has expertise in innovative and inclusive education and enjoys working on themes of serious game development and DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion). She is presently involved in leading workshops on inclusive approaches in learning experience design, teaching and communication, and is also teaching a Masters course on tackling societal inequalities at the Honours Academy of Leiden University.

Felix M. Simon is a communication researcher and doctoral student at the Oxford Internet Institute (OII), where he has been researching the effects of AI in journalism and the news industry for the last four years. Investigating the use of AI at more than 30 international news organisations including The Guardian, the New York Times, the BBC, and Der Spiegel, his research seeks to understand the structural implications of AI—including forms of generative AI—for news organisations’ production and distribution processes as well as the public sphere.

Sophie Vériter is a Non-Resident Fellow in the Peace and Security section. She is also a doctoral researcher at the Institute of Security and Global Affairs (ISGA) of Leiden University. She specializes in counter-disinformation policies. Her interests cover democracy, technology, and global governance. Sophie prioritises inter-disciplinary approaches, building on her background in law, political science, international relations, and security studies. She is fascinated by communications and passionate about empowering society. On her blog, she writes op-eds on current affairs, mental health, and academia. She holds a Master’s degree in Politics from the University of Oxford and has received prestigious scholarships including from the Europaeum and UACES.

Karen Douglas (PhD, Australian National University) is a Professor of Social Psychology at the University of Kent in the United Kingdom. Her research focuses on the antecedents and consequences of belief in conspiracy theories. She has published widely on these topics and is currently working on a European Research Council Advanced Grant to study the consequences of conspiracy theories for individuals, groups, and societies.