Kiran Arabaghatta Basavaraj

Dr. Kiran Arabaghatta Basavaraj is a Research Fellow in Computational Social Science at the Department of Political Science, University College London (UCL). He works on the UKRI-funded 'Online Speech Project' with Dr. Jeffrey Howard. His research focuses on interdisciplinary methodologies in social sciences, particularly linking social media data with surveys, misinformation dynamics, and political campaigns. He holds a PhD and MRes in Advanced Quantitative Methods from the University of Exeter (ESRC-funded), an MPP from the National Law School of India University, and a Bachelor of Engineering from Visvesvaraya Technological University.

Research interests include: social media analysis, misinformation mitigation, natural language processing, machine learning applications in politics, experimental methods, public opinion research, polarization, and electoral integrity. He has co-investigated projects such as the India Elections Study (IES) and Meta (Facebook) Data Grant, alongside UKRI-funded studies on media and the 2019 UK General Election.

His work appears in journals like Political Psychology and Journal of Quantitative Description, with conference presentations at APSA, MPSA, and IEEE. He previously served as a Junior Fellow for the Electoral Integrity Project (2022), conducting experimental research on misinformation's electoral impact.

Dr. Basavaraj’s research explores intersections between digital media, identity politics, and democratic processes. His recent projects analyze disinformation strategies, pandemic-era microtargeting, and the role of social media in Indian and UK elections. Current work emphasizes methodological innovation for tracking disinformation and its societal consequences.