Hypermedia Warfare and Techno-Legal Entanglements - Symposium

• Ryan Heuser, Assistant Professor of Digital Humanities, Cambridge Digital Humanities
• Wesam Amer, CDH Affiliate and Visiting Professor, University of Cambridge
• Henning Grosse Ruse-Khan, Professor of Law, University of Cambridge

The last years have witnessed intense and overlapping global conflicts, in particular in Gaza, Ukraine, and Sudan – each with distinct geopolitical contexts but shared patterns in the intersection of media, technology, and violence. In Gaza, decades of occupation and the Israeli war following the October 7th Hamas attacks have produced a humanitarian catastrophe, with civilians and journalists bearing the brunt of military campaigns with high-tech weaponry and AI-powered targeting data. In Ukraine, the ongoing war since 2022 has combined conventional military operations with sophisticated information campaigns, targeting domestic and international audiences. In Sudan, protracted and brutal conflicts amongst waring military fractions have exposed journalists and civilians to systematic violence, state and non-state surveillance, and information suppression, limiting independent reporting and international awareness.

The contemporary conflict in all three zones unfolds across hybrid spaces – physical, digital, legal and symbolic – where algorithms, data, and images operate as both instruments of coercion and means of narrative control. Such ‘hypermedia warfare’ blurs distinctions between combat operations, computational propaganda, and the shaping of public perception, transforming how conflicts are fought, documented, and understood.

Across these zones, AI and hypermedia warfare intersect with legal, ethical, and technological frameworks, raising urgent questions about accountability, protection of journalists, and the governance of information in conflict. This context demands interdisciplinary engagement, bridging media studies, AI ethics, international law, and political philosophy, to address the evolving challenges of conflict, narrative control, and techno-legal entanglements.

Please submit your abstract of 300-500 words, outlining the paper’s key argument, methodology, and relevance to the symposium themes, by 30 April 2026. Full papers are not required at the submission stage.

Important dates:

Deadline for abstract submission: 30 April 2026

• Communication of decisions: 15 May 2026
• Deadline for registration of presenters: 01 June 2026
• Deadline for general registration: 30 June 2026

We welcome contributions from scholars and practitioners working in (but not limited to):

• Media and communication studies
• AI, technology, and digital cultures
• International law and international humanitarian law
• Political science and international relations
• Journalism, human rights, and ethics

Key themes include (but are not limited to):

• AI, disinformation, and hypermedia warfare
• Journalism under siege, platform governance, and narrative control
• Automated targeting, surveillance technologies, and accountability gaps
• Techno-legal challenges in contemporary armed conflicts
• Comparative perspectives across conflict zones and media ecologies

Depending on papers received, panels may be structured as follows:

• Media: Journalism, Disinformation, and Information Control
• Technology: AI, Hypermedia Warfare, and Digital Manipulation
• Law: Legal Frameworks, Accountability, and Techno-Legal Challenges
• Entanglements: Cross-Cutting Techno-Legal Perspectives on War and Media

Selected contributions may be considered for inclusion in a special issue of a leading academic journal. Decisions on this will be reached after the symposium, in consultation with all who present.

For expressions of interest or enquiries relating to the symposium, please email Dr Wesam Amer.

Events are free and open to all unless otherwise stated. If you have specific accessibility needs for this event, please get in touch with CDH. We will do our best to accommodate any requests.

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Host or Publisher Cambridge Digital Humanities