Centre for Disinformation and Migration Research (CDMR)
Research & Action · South Asia
Centre for Disinformation and Migration Research
Bridging research and practice to support informed migration governance in South Asia through capacity building, advisory support, and collaborative action on disinformation.
About Us
We are the Centre for Disinformation and Migration Research (CDMR). We work across South Asia, with a deep grounding in Bangladesh, to bridge the gap between research and real-world practice. At CDMR, we focus on a critical overlap: how information disorder directly impacts migration, labour, trafficking, refugees, and displacement.
We generate local data, conduct grounded research, and provide actionable insights that help governments and international organisations build evidence-based policies. Rather than just studying problems, we design solutions to protect vulnerable people from online deception, digital recruitment scams, and false narratives that disrupt their lives.
Vision, Mission & Goal
We envision a South Asia where migration is safe, informed, and governed by evidence, completely free from the manipulative effects of disinformation. We want communities to possess the critical thinking and literacy skills, ensuring that migrants and displaced populations can make decisions based on facts and verification.
Our Mission
We strengthen information ecosystems by directly addressing the intersection of disinformation and migration. We conduct rigorous research, build the capacity of local communities and journalists, and provide advisory support to policymakers.
Our Goal
Our goal is to fight against online deception and develop practical solutions for migration governance by focusing on labour mobility, human trafficking, refugee contexts, and climate displacement.
Our Objectives
- 01 To map and analyse how information disorder shapes the journeys of labour migrants, refugees, and displaced populations across Asia.
- 02 To build migration information literacy and digital literacy among aspirants and vulnerable groups.
- 03 To train the next generation of migration scholars and disinformation researchers through active community engagement.
- 04 To advise governments, UN agencies, and donor organisations on crafting policies that disrupt trafficking networks and protect migrant rights.
What We Do
Research Focus
We look closely at how false promises spread through social media, drive unsafe labour migration, and trafficking. We investigate the specific digital recruitment scams targeting aspirants seeking overseas employment. We also track how climate displacement creates information vacuums that bad actors easily exploit.
Capacity Building
We run targeted programs to improve migration information literacy for aspiring migrants so they can spot a scam before it is too late. We integrate digital and financial literacy into pre-departure training to help workers understand trustworthy digital recruitment channels. We also train local journalists, civil society actors, and grassroots organisations to identify and counter online deception, making active frontline defenders against disinformation.
Advocacy & Activism
We actively campaign for stronger labour protections and support grassroots activism that demands accountability from brokers and tech companies. When displacement occurs, we advocate for the right to accurate information, treating it as a fundamental necessity for refugees and displaced communities, much like food or shelter.
Regional Collaborations
We collaborate extensively across South Asia to track transnational trafficking networks and cross-border information flows. By partnering with organisations in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar, we build a regional defence against online deception and share solutions that work across different cultural contexts.
Journalism and Media
We work directly with newsrooms to elevate the standard of migration reporting. We provide journalists with the tools to investigate complex labour trafficking cases and digital scams without accidentally amplifying false narratives. Through our work, we support independent journalism that holds powerful actors accountable and brings the realities of displacement and information disorder to the public eye.
Our Work in Practice
Active
Ongoing Projects
Right now, we are implementing initiatives focused on community media and displacement, helping refugee populations build their own fact-checking networks to counter local rumours. We also manage projects tracking migrant social cohesion, working to stop online deception from fueling violence between host communities and displaced people.
Academic
Promoting Migration Studies
We actively support migration studies by grounding academic theories in the harsh realities of labour trafficking and displacement. We use methodologies like ethnography of displacement and subaltern migration narratives to capture the voices of those most affected by information disorder. We are looking for university partnerships, academic grants, and research collaborations to push this field forward.
Fellowship
Support for Fellowships
We are establishing fellowship programs focused on open-source intelligence for migration and tracking tech-facilitated trafficking. We also welcome collaborations with international media houses or think tanks willing to co-host fellows.
Journalism
Migration Journalism
We provide targeted support for migration journalism by teaching reporters how to verify digital recruitment ads and spot algorithmic amplification of scams. We can design bespoke programs that turn standard journalists into experts on labour trafficking and online deception. Partner with us to build next-gen reporters who can hold traffickers and corrupt brokers accountable.
Literacy
Migrant Literacy
We use critical pedagogy for migrant literacy to design interactive courses that teach aspiring migrants how to deconstruct a digital recruitment scam. We also develop modules on digital inclusion for refugees and pre-departure information literacy for frontline workers.
Research
Publications
Our publications include policy briefs for international organisations, investigative memos on digital recruitment fraud, and community-friendly guides on spotting online deception. We focus on data-driven storytelling that highlights the human cost of disinformation in labour and refugee contexts.
Partners & Sustainable Development Goals
Partners
Our partners include government agencies responsible for labour and migration, UN organisations, the EU, and major development organisations. We also work together with migration programs, universities, and localised grassroots networks that directly support displaced populations and trafficking survivors.
Government Agencies
UN Organisations
European Union
Development Orgs
Universities
Grassroots Networks
Sustainable Development Goals
We advance SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) by fighting digital recruitment scams that lead to labour exploitation. We align with SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities) by advocating for marginalised migrants and refugees. Our efforts to counter online deception and trafficking contribute to SDG 16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions), while our focus on climate displacement ties into SDG 13 (Climate Action).
SDG 8 — Decent Work
SDG 10 — Reduced Inequalities
SDG 13 — Climate Action
SDG 16 — Peace & Justice
Looking for Partnerships
We want to collaborate with donor organisations and international NGOs to scale our literacy programs in high-risk migration corridors. We also look to connect with academic institutions and journalism schools to expand our research on information disorder and build a stronger, shared evidence base.
Get in Touch Read More