Saif Shahin is an assistant professor in the School of Communication at American University in Washington, D.C. An expert in critical data studies and digital culture, Shahin researches technology policy; the implications of disinformation online; media coverage of global politics; diversity and inclusion efforts in digital spaces; and online social movements.

Shahin’s recent published work focuses on how digital media users use nationalism to justify bigotry and the far right’s presence on social media. He conducts ongoing research on the online Black Lives Matter movement’s impact on global struggles for social justice. His research methods include machine learning, social network analysis and sentiment analysis, the process of detecting opinion in text on social networks and elsewhere online. 

Shahin is a faculty fellow at the Internet Governance Lab and affiliated with the Antiracism Research and Policy Center, both at American University. He also serves as an associate editor of the Journal of Information Technology and Politics. Previously, he worked as a journalist in India, England and the Middle East.

Shahin has been quoted in several media outlets, including Forbes, The Hill and USA Today.

Courtesy of Saif Shahin

Pronouns: He/him

Expertise: Social media, disinformation, technology policy, digital culture, social movements, Big Data

Location: Washington, D.C.

Email: saif.shahin@gmail.com or shahin@american.edu  

Twitter: @shahin_saif

Heard on American Magazine’s 30 Minutes On…: “30 Minutes on… Social media”