I’m an Assistant Professor of Communication at the University of Tampa. I am also a Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Media Engagement at the University of Texas at Austin, and an Affiliate Researcher at the Center for Information, Technology, and Public Life at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
My research examines emerging technologies’ relevance for democratic communication and feminist coalition-building. I specialize in the study of disinformation, political propaganda, and democratic activism on emerging technologies, especially surrounding reproductive rights, through political communication and feminist frameworks. My research spans countries including Bolivia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Eritrea, India, Indonesia, Libya, Mexico, Morocco, Myanmar, the Philippines, Turkey, Ukraine, and the United States, among others.
I received my PhD in Journalism and Media from the University of Texas at Austin in 2025, where I was a Harrington Fellow.
My peer-reviewed journal articles have been published in Big Data & Society, Information, Communication & Society, Social Media + Society, Political Research Quarterly, Journalism Studies, First Monday, Feminist Media Studies, and Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health. Alongside co-editors Dr. Inga Trauthig, Dr. Alice Marwick, and Dr. Sam Woolley, I edited a special issue in the Journal of Information Technology & Politics on conspiracy theory research.
My research has appeared in Teen Vogue, Slate Future Tense, Rappler, Tech Policy Press, Centre for International Governance Innovation, Global Network on Extremist and Technology, One to Know Magazine, the Austin Chronicle, and online at the Center for Media Engagement. I have presented this work at conferences including International Communication Association, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, RightsCon, the Association of Internet Researchers conference, and others.
I have a Master of Arts in Journalism and Media from the University of Texas at Austin, where I wrote my thesis on the representation of pregnancy loss in American news media, and a Bachelor of Arts in Feminist Studies from Southwestern University, where my thesis analyzed the experience of pregnancy loss through a critical feminist lens.
Zelly Martin 