Abdulhameed Ridwanullah

I am a communication scholar, teacher, and researcher working at the intersection of digital media, political communication, and platform governance, with a particular focus on Africa. My work asks a question that matters more than ever: how do societies navigate identity, conflict, and power through the media systems they build and inhabit?

I am currently completing a Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Design and Media at Northeastern University, Boston, where I am based at the Media for Empowerment and Impact Lab. I hold a B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Mass Communication from Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria.

My dissertation examines platform governance failure in Africa, with particular attention to how artificial intelligence moderation systems consistently fail African languages, contexts, and communities. At a moment when global platforms wield enormous power over public discourse, my work interrogates why that power operates so unevenly — and what is at stake when content moderation is built without the Global South in mind. This research sits at the cutting edge of debates about algorithmic accountability, digital equity, and the politics of platform design.

More broadly, my research spans online hate speech, platformed political hostility, digital publics, and strategic communication in conflict settings. I am especially interested in how African societies negotiate old social tensions through new media infrastructures, a line of inquiry that bridges communication theory, media sociology, and platform studies.

My scholarly work has appeared in Communication Studies, Public Relations Review, Journal of Asian & African Studies, and Cogent Arts and Humanities, among others. I have presented research on hate speech, platform governance, journalist safety, and political communication at international venues.

Before doctoral study, I served as a Lecturer and Head of Department of Mass Communication at Skyline University Nigeria, where I led curriculum development, departmental administration, and student mentorship. I bring that same commitment to teaching and institutional life into my current work.

I am a Graduate Affiliate at the Center for Transformative Media at Northeastern University and at the Center for Information, Technology, and Public Life (CITAP) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.