Associate Professor Piers Howe
Associate Professor Piers Howe is one of Australia’s foremost experts on misinformation and disinformation, whose research has shaped national policy, defence strategy, and public resilience to online harms. Based at the University of Melbourne, he co-leads two of the university’s flagship initiatives in this space: the Information and Influence Hub and the Hallmark Research Initiative on Fighting Harmful Online Communication. Through these roles, he has built major interdisciplinary networks, secured over $5.5 million in competitive funding, and positioned the University of Melbourne as a national leader in misinformation research.
Piers's research bridges psychology, artificial intelligence, and national security. He has published over 125 scholarly works, including articles in Nature Human Behaviour, Management Science, and the Harvard Kennedy School Misinformation Review. He is widely recognised for developing practical, scalable interventions that reduce the spread and harm of misinformation, and for ensuring these interventions are usable under the constraints faced by policymakers.
He is a trusted advisor to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, for whom he has written two major reports to help develop a coordinated, whole-of-government response to foreign disinformation. He has also provided expert evidence to multiple government inquiries and contributed to high-level reports commissioned by the Office of the Chief Scientist and the Australian Academy of Science.
Internationally, Piers serves on the International Panel on the Information Environment (IPIE), a multidisciplinary body of global experts that provides science-based assessments and policy guidance on disinformation, influence operations, and the health of the global information ecosystem. He is also the lead organiser for the 2026 Experimental Psychology Conference and an academic editor for PLOS One.
A recipient of multiple teaching awards, he has also led major innovations in online learning and assessment literacy, demonstrating impact across research, education, and policy.