CSI Launches First Peer-Reviewed Journal on Cognitive Security

WASHINGTON, D.C., April 7, 2026 —AI-enhanced influence operations, a contested information environment, and coordinated manipulation campaigns are reshaping institutions and eroding public trust worldwide — yet the researchers working to counter them have had no dedicated publication of their own.

The Cognitive Security Institute is changing that with the launch of the Cognitive Security Institute Press, and its flagship journal Cognitive Security, an interdisciplinary peer-reviewed, open-access academic journal dedicated to understanding and countering threats to human cognition. Original research, case studies, and editorials — freely available to researchers, practitioners, and policymakers worldwide.

“The threats targeting human cognition are real and accelerating. The research community has been ready for years — we’ve just been missing the infrastructure. This journal addresses that gap.”

— Dr. Matthew Canham, Founder, Cognitive Security Institute

CSI is also taking a deliberate stance on how peer review gets done: Reviewers will be compensated for their work. The journal operates on a cost-recovery basis, with 15 percent of article processing fees directed to fee waivers for researchers from underserved communities and those demonstrating financial need.

“My goal is for Cognitive Security to become the place where the best work in this field is first seen --- with rigorous peer review, fair treatment of the people who make that review possible, and genuinely open access so that knowledge reaches practitioners and policymakers, not just institutional libraries."

— Robert H. Thomson, Editor-in-Chief, Cognitive Security

The journal welcomes submissions from researchers across cognitive science, cybersecurity, psychology, political science, communications, and related disciplines — exactly the kind of cross-field collaboration the subject demands. Submissions are open now at csi-press.com.