On February 13th, Dr. Loni Hagen participated in a meeting with delegates from Singapore Ministry of Defense Communications Organization (MCO) to explore pressing issues in crisis communications, social media analysis, and countering misinformation. Joining the meeting were USF faculty members, Dr. Fan Yang, Assistant Professor of Mass Communication, and Dr. Ratna Dougherty, Assistant Professor of Public Affairs, who shared their research on emerging challenges in digital communication.
The delegation, which included the Director of the Information Directorate, the Deputy Director, and the Assistant Deputy Director, visited USF’s School of Information to engage in discussions on key topics such as Target Audience Analysis in social media, the use of Large Language Models (LLMs), and potential collaboration opportunities between USF and MCO. The discussion highlighted critical trends, including declining public trust in government institutions and concerns about the accuracy of information disseminated on social media platforms.
The meeting fostered meaningful dialogue on strategies for addressing these challenges and set the stage for future collaboration. Dr. Hagen expressed interest in visiting Singapore in the future to continue learning from their insights and strengthen partnerships in this evolving field.