Joan Donovan

Dr. Joan Donovan is an Assistant Professor of Journalism and Emerging Media Studies at Boston University’s College of Communications. She is founder of The Critical Internet Studies Institute, a nonprofit advancing public knowledge of technology and innovation paradoxes. Previously, she led Harvard Kennedy School’s Technology and Social Change Research Project, focusing on media manipulation and disinformation. Donovan’s work bridges academia and public engagement, addressing how social media impacts democracy and societal trust.

Education includes a PhD in Sociology and Science Studies (UC San Diego), MA in Sociology (Concordia University), and postdoctoral research at UCLA on white supremacists’ use of genetic ancestry tests. Her research has been featured in MIT Technology Review, The Atlantic, and The New York Times.

Key research areas include media manipulation campaigns, disinformation ecology, and platform governance. Notable outputs include Meme Wars (2022) and the open-access Media Manipulation Casebook. She has advised journalists, policymakers, and civil society on combating misinformation through detection, documentation, and strategic responses.

Awards include 2020 recognition from the American Sociological Association and Society for Social Studies of Science. Current initiatives include the Luxury Surveillance Lab and Networked Incitement programs, addressing technology ethics and political violence mobilization.

Donovan is accessible for consulting via email and active on platforms like Twitter (@BostonJoan). Her work emphasizes actionable research to build a “public interest internet” through interdisciplinary collaboration.