Dear Friends, Please consider forwarding this to students or colleagues who may find it interesting. It's free for anyone who registers, and accepted papers get a grant to present in person in Michigan. Warmly, Joyojeet ***** We are excited to invite you to the *Social Media & Society in India Symposium (SMSI 2025)* taking place on April 4-5, 2025 at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Even if you do not do work in India, take a look at the exciting list of topics, some of which speak to how social media is impacting society everywhere around the world, and it's free to view online for anyone who registers! The conference is running in its 5th iteration and has in the past featured an unique blend of speakers, who are typically practitioners and professionals.This year's symposium brings together leading journalists, digital activists, researchers, and media professionals to explore the evolving role of social media in democracy, activism, business, and representation in India. *What to Expect* - *Panels & Talks* - The symposium will comprise of 5 sessions over two days, featuring lightning talks and moderated discussions. Day 1 (April 4) of the symposium will feature panels related to the theme of Citizenship and Democracy and Day 2 (April 5) will feature panels centred around the Social and Economic Aspects of social media platforms. - *Student Research Session* - Day 2 will also feature a session with poster presentations by student researchers on various aspects of Social Media and Society - *1:1 Office Hours and Interactions * - A chance to set up 10 minute zoom appointments with your favourite speakers at the conference - *AI & Social Media Workshop* – Day 2 will feature a workshop on “Integrating state-of-the-art AI tools in Social Media work” led by Dr. Kiran Garimella 📌 View Program Schedule & Speakers <https://joyojeet.people.si.umich.edu/program.html> *Register Now* 🔗 The conference is open for registration for both in-person and online attendees: Sign Up Here <https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe46Yskja8W9ZioyB0tACF4WzqriHp9LPI083BypGZvzEUMwg/viewform?usp=dialog> 🌐 Symposium Website <https://joyojeet.people.si.umich.edu/influencers.htm> We look forward to thought-provoking discussions and meaningful exchanges. See a full list of the talks below. *April 4, 2025* April 4: 9:00 - 9:15 (EDT) Opening Remarks Madhumita Lahiri, Director, Center for South Asia Studies *April 4: 9:15 - 11:15 (EDT) Session 1: Politics, Propaganda, and Public Opinion* *Ashok Lahiri* - *Campaign Management & Social Media* *Nilesh Christopher* - *Deepfakes and the 2024 Election: Pipelines of Creation, Use and Detection* *Kunal Majumder* - *The physical and virtual dangers to local journalists in an age of Social Media: Cases from India* *Neha Dixit* - *Framing Indian public discourse: Why gender lens in media and politics is essential* *Ayushi Kar* - *The Use of Customized Mobile Apps for Outreach and Campaign Management in India* *HV Jagadish* - Chair *April 4: 11:30 - 1:30 (EDT) Session 2: Digital Activism and Social Justice* *Raqib Naik* - *Digital Hate, Physical Consequences: How Online Hate and Extremism translates into real world violence* *Padmapriya Janakiraman* - *Claiming Rights in Cinema Today: Introspecting Rights in Malayalam Cinema* *Suchitra Vijayan* - *Mechanics of Digital Colonialism* *Arjun Sethi* - *The Empire strikes back: India's evolving response to popular diaspora advocacy on X* *Makepeace Sitlhou* - *Manipur conflict on social media amidst internet shutdown* *Aditya Vashishta* - Chair *April 4: 3:00 - 5:00 (EDT) Session 3: Media, Representation, and Criticism* *Makarand Paranjape* - *Space for Criticism in India* *Ramit Verma (Peeing Human)* - *Satire or History - The Indian Mystery* *Nidhi Suresh* - *Women, Trauma & Criminal Justice: Examining the Coverage of Sexual Violence in Digital News* *Bhanupriya Rao* - *Erosion of Equality: Gender Rights in Shifting Democracies* *Sambhaji Bhagat* - *Music and Activism in Offline and Online days* *Ram Mahalingam* - Chair *April 5, 2025* *April 5: 8:00 - 10:00 (EDT) Research Papers* *Gazal Shekhawat* (London School of Economics and Political Science) - *Platformising Weddings, Obfuscating Arrange-ments: Questions about desi digital enclosures* *Sejal Khurana, Suhani Mathur, Paro Mishra* (Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology, Delhi) - *Old Wine In a New Bottle: Indian Momfluencers Performing New Momism on Instagram* *Kartikeya Reddy *(Hertie School) - *Celluloid campaigners: Hindi cinema characters as conduits for political messaging* *Jaya Mathur* (Jawaharlal Nehru University & Centre for the Study of Developing Societies) - *On Psychotherapy, Psychotherapists, & Psy-Speak: Reflections on Social Media Expertise and Psychologisation in India* *Sonia Kumari* (Indira Gandhi National Open University) - *Influencers from low-income groups: Some notes from the field* *Dhruv Raghavan* (Brown University) - *The Evolving Landscape of Indian Political Interviewing* *Riccardo Campana *(Bennett University & Ca' Foscari University of Venice) - *Political influencers and Ayodhya Temple inauguration: a new way to do politics* *April 5: 10:00 - 12:00** (EDT) **Session 4: The Business and Power of Influence* *Viraj Sheth* - *The Psychology of Relevance: Rise and Fall in the fast-paced Influencing lifestyle* *Ria Chopra* - *The Treasure in Small Data: Rethinking the ways influencing is analyzed in India* *Steph Ann Tomy* - *Making Light of Everyday Situations* *Pratik Sinha* - *The Economy and Ecosystem of Information Verification in India* *Pranav Malhotra* - Chair April 5: 12:00 - 2:00 Lunch Workshop *Integrating state-of-the-art AI tools in social media work* Dibyendu Mishra, Soham De and Kiran Garimella *April 5: **2:00 - 4:00 **(EDT) **Session 5: Social Media, Local Voices, and Changing Narratives* *Sonam Wangchuk* - *Online Glaciers: Moving the dial on Climate Activism in India* *Tanzil Asif* - *Hyperlocal and Rural Journalism in India: Evidence from Bihar* *Santosh Jadhav* - *Influencing through Agricultural Content: The case of Indian Farmer in Maharashtra* *Siddhesh Gautam* - *Art side of the moon: Aesthetics of Ambedkarism* *Sucharita Tyagi *- *Speaking Truth to Cinema: When Criticism is an act of resistance* *Bilal Butt* - Chair