Dear community,

Come discuss GenAI, transparency, and trust with us at our event: The Label Paradox: Can AI Transparency Create More Distrust?

10 September 2026 | 10:00–11:30 CEST | Online

Hosted by the AI, Media & Democracy Lab at UvA, the event will focus on AI transparency labels and what they actually mean as the flood of synthetic content takes over our feeds. Across journalism, politics, activism, advertising, and everyday platform culture, labels are being positioned as a key mechanism for restoring trust. But what can a simple “Generated with AI” label really solve? And what happens when the label itself starts generating suspicion?

Our panel will ask whether AI labels might produce unintended consequences: eroding trust in accurate content, giving unlabeled material an unwarranted aura of authenticity, or becoming strategically mobilized in already polarized information environments. The timing is particularly relevant as, under the EU AI Act, professional users of GenAI, including content producers, advertisers, political actors, governments, and public institutions, are required to disclose AI-generated content, raising broader questions about what transparency can actually achieve in complex information ecosystems.

Our fantastic line-up:
- Jean Burgess, Queensland University of Technology
- Anja Bechmann, Aarhus University
- Anders Søgaard, University of Copenhagen
- Laurens Naudts, University of Amsterdam
- Tom Divon (me!), Hebrew University of Jerusalem

The discussion will be moderated by Natali Helberger, University of Amsterdam, and the co-director of the AI, Media & Democracy Lab at UvA.

More information and registration:
https://www.aim4dem.nl/events/

Would be lovely to see some familiar faces there! <3

Tom

*Tom Divon*
Creators & Platforms Researcher
Dept. of Communication & Journalism, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Sammy Ofer School of Communications, IDC, Herzliya Tel: +972-547-532681 Website: https://tomdivon.com/ Co-Founder: The Content Creator Scholars Network Publications: >> Playful Activism: Memetic Performances of Palestinian Resistance in TikTok #Challenges >> #JewishTikTok: The JewToks' Fight against Antisemitism >> Serious TikTok: Can You Learn About the Holocaust in 60 Seconds? >> Playful Trauma: TikTok Creators and the Use of the Platformed Body in Times of War >> Platform gaslighting: A user-centric insight into social media corporate communications of content moderation >> The unsolicited algorithm: unveiling gendered harms and (non)consent in apple iOS features >> The sound of disinformation: TikTok, computational propaganda, and the invasion of Ukraine >> Youthful Platform Commemoration: TikTok as a Frontier for Holocaust Education and Memory