SYMPOSIUM THEME AND MAIN TITLES
The Faculty of Communication at Istinye University is pleased to announce the 6th International Media and Society Symposium (MASS 2026), to be held on May 14–16, 2026, under the main theme “Post-Truth.” The event will feature academic sessions, exhibitions, and workshops in a hybrid format (online and on-site).
Researchers conducting original theoretical or applied studies, as well as practitioners and artists producing creative works through digital technologies, are invited to share their latest projects and perspectives at the symposium.
Reality, Media, and Culture in the Post-Truth Era
Since the second decade of the 21st century, the notion of “reality” has undergone a profound transformation driven by digital technologies, algorithmic filters, and AI-assisted production tools. In this post-truth era, information circulates not through verification processes but through emotional persuasion, giving rise to a communication regime where truth is often displaced by affect.
Deepfake technologies, synthetic media, AI-generated imagery, and manipulated visuals circulating on social media have triggered a crisis of visual trust. Viewers now constantly question whether what they see can be believed.
In this new reality regime, artistic, media, and communication practices are being redefined on ethical, aesthetic, and political levels.
MASS 2026 aims to explore the impacts of the “post-reality age” on media, art, and culture through an interdisciplinary approach, bringing together researchers, artists, and thinkers interested in the fragility of truth and authenticity in contemporary media ecologies.
Abstracts submitted in response to the call for participation will be accepted for the symposium based on a blind peer review process. The symposium encompasses the exploration of digital studies and theoretical research on the following topics:
• Information, emotion, and manipulation in the post-truth era
• Deepfake technologies and the crisis of visual credibility
• Simulation aesthetics and hyperreality in art
• Post-truth journalism, propaganda, and digital ethics
• Belief, doubt, and the quest for authenticity in visual culture
• “Seeing is not believing”: Politics of perception and representation in social media
• Artistic dimensions of AI and synthetic image production
• Archives, memory, and truth in the digital age
• Fiction, narrative, and the blurring of reality in art
• Post-truth aesthetics in new media art
Abstract Submission