Spotting misleading images about vaccines and health: community workshops

Synthetic Realities community workshops, autumn and winter 2026 to 2027

AI can now create very realistic images. Some are used to spread misleading information about vaccines and health. We are a research team at Manchester Metropolitan University, and we want to understand what makes these images feel believable, and to build clearer resources together with communities like yours.

We are inviting community members to share their everyday experiences of the images and information they see online, help us understand what makes something feel trustworthy or suspicious, help design resources that really work for their community, and enjoy food, conversation and creativity in a welcoming space.

Who can join? Anyone aged 18 or over who wants to share ideas. No knowledge of AI or vaccines is needed. We are especially keen to hear from people whose voices are not always heard. You will not be asked about your own vaccination status.

Where and when? A short series of four workshops, three in person at a friendly, accessible local venue and one online using Microsoft Teams. We are gathering interest in London, Liverpool and Manchester, and will confirm venues and dates with the people who register. Each workshop lasts about three and a half hours, with food from arrival. Interpretation and translation are available.

Thank you: £30 voucher per workshop for taking part.

What happens next: Registering your interest does not commit you to anything. Once we know where people are, we will email everyone who registered with the venue, the proposed dates and a full information sheet, and you can decide then whether you would like to take part.

Questions? Email Dr Sam Martin at smartin@mmu.ac.uk.

Funded by the Economic and Social Research Council through UKRI Smart Data Research UK. Hosted at Manchester Metropolitan University. Approved by the MMU Arts and Humanities Research Ethics and Governance Committee, EthOS reference 93074.