The College of Information and Communications hosted professor Sonny S. Patel on Nov. 19 for the fall Information Integrity Initiative lecture, “Signals Under Siege: Information Integrity, Infrastructure and Community Resilience in the Age of Technology-Enabled Threats.”

Patel, a Presidential Fellow with the Transcultural Conflict and Violence Initiative at Georgia State University and a Visiting Scientist at the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, studies how people exchange and interpret information in times of crisis.

“Disasters and crisis are no longer just physical events.  They are happening in the meta universe. They are happening in our minds,” said Patel. “The information space is now critical for operations, especially in applied space for governments.”

In a world increasingly shaped by digital information and environmental disasters, the boundaries between physical safety and informational trust have vanished. As conflicts and disasters unfold, new hybrid threats fuel uncertainty by targeting both infrastructure and the minds of our communities. Drawing on research and experience, this keynote explored the tactics of state-backed influence (including a cross-platform analysis of Russia’s RT and China’s CGTN), the game-changing effects of AI-driven manipulation, and the critical need for community resilience, strategic communication, and interdisciplinary solutions.

“The next challenge in this is generative AI, is how do we design infrastructure, institutions, and community practices that can be resilient to this,” said Patel.

He went on to say that “a moral compass or an ethical roadmap” is necessary for individuals and institutions to help ensure the integrity of information. Patel also encouraged nonprofit organizations and government agencies to collaborate on campaigns to make it easier for community members to discern which messages related to emergencies are accurate.

Patel’s international perspective bridges health, crisis communication and information integrity: key themes in the college’s mission to strengthen public understanding of truth, trust and responsible communication. His visit supports the CIC’s Information Integrity Initiative, which promotes interdisciplinary research and public dialogue on how to protect trustworthy information in an increasingly complex world.

“The series is supported by a donor gift from Mr. Ed Roberts, a USC alum whose vision established the CIC's Information Integrity Initiative,” said associate professor Brett Robertson, who is responsible for selecting the speakers for the series.”

“His generosity allows us to bring accomplished experts to campus and create meaningful conversations about communication ethics, trust, and the responsible exchange of information in today’s interconnected world. We are proud to publicly recognize Mr. Roberts for his continued support of this important effort.”