Full Biography

My name is Samantha Bradshaw. I am an Assistant Professor at American University’s School of International Service, a Research Fellow with the Centre for International Governance Innovation and Fellow with the International Strategy Forum’s (ISF) North America Cohort. Prior to joining AU, I was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Stanford University working at the Center for Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law the Digital Civil Society Lab, and the Program for Democracy and the Internet.

My scholarship uses a mix of computational and qualitative methods to answer foundational questions about technology, politics, and power: When do digital technologies enhance or constrain democracy? What roles do governments, companies, and civil society play in shaping civic life? And which policy interventions are most needed to improve online information ecosystems?

My doctoral project was a study of how technology can both enhance and constrain democracy. I am particularly interested in the politics embedded in information and communication technologies, and how political actors exploit these affordances for propaganda and persuasion. While so-called fake news and foreign influence operations are far from new, my work demonstrates how computational propaganda—or the use of algorithms, automation, and big data—is a form of information control that can enhance the speed, reach, and precision of disinformation, raising critical questions about the future of Internet freedom and democracy.  

Currently, I am working on several projects at the intersection of social media, platform governance, and democracy. Some of these projects include investigations into identity-based disinformation. For example, in an article in the International Journal of Communication, I explore how foreign state actors discuss women and women’s rights as part of their influence operations. In other projects, my work helps theorize, analyze, and explore the impact of content moderation practices on the online information ecosystem, by examining how labelling policies affect audiences of state-backed news, or exploring the effects of deplatforming certain users from mainstream platforms, for example.

My research has generated significant academic and policy interest, as well as global media attention. I have published work in leading academic journals, including New Media & Society, Internet & Policy, Internet Technology & Regulation, American Behavioral Scientist, and the Columbia Journal of International Affairs. My research and public writing have been featured by numerous media outlets, including the New York Times, the Washington Post, CNN, the Globe and Mail, the Financial Times, and Bloomberg Magazine. I have spoke on expert-panels and have delivered keynote lectures around the world, including international organizations such as UNESCO and NATO. And I have been involved in public policy discussions in the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States, briefing staff and providing expert-witness testimony to several ongoing political processes about the effects of technology on democracy.

I completed my PhD at the Oxford Internet Institute. Prior to joining Stanford, I also worked as a core member of the research team on the Computational Propaganda Project at Oxford University, and as a Research Associate at the Centre for International Governance Innovation in Waterloo Canada on the Global Commission for Internet Governance.