Aanila Kishwar Tarannum
PhD Student
Contact Information
Research and Creative Interests
- Internet Studies
- Mixed Methods Research
- Digital platforms
- Censorship
- Content moderation
Biography
My work is situated within the fields of internet studies and critical platform studies, with specific research interests in platform affordances, platform governance, algorithmic censorship, and localized use cases of global platforms. I use a variety of digital, qualitative, and quantitative methods.
I have an M.A. in Communication from Virginia Tech. For my thesis, I researched the effect of anti-free speech laws on editorial cartoons in Bangladesh, my home country.
I began my journalistic career at Bangladesh’s top English daily, The Daily Star, while I was a freshman at Dhaka University. What started out as a freelancing gig at the paper’s youth supplement later became a full-time job at the news desk. Since then, I have worked at the United Nations Development Programme; Virginia Tech’s Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology; the Smithsonian Science Education Center, and Green America. I continue to work in content writing, science communication, and social media management roles during the summer months, when the academic year is not in session.
Conferences
Tarannum, A. K. (2025). “A Reassessment of the Aura: Analyzing the Categories of AI-generated Images in Facebook’s Algorithmic Landscape.” Common Ground, The Media School, Indiana University Bloomington, IN, USA; March 2025.
Tarannum, A. K. (2024). “Islamic Praise Poetry as Propaganda in Sudan.” ASPECT Conference: Reimagining Relationality, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA; March 2024.
Tarannum, A. K., Snyder, M., & Spaulding, J. (2023). “Mansplaining in the Workplace.” International Academy of Business Disciplines (IABD), New Orleans, LA, USA; March 2023.
Grants & Awards
International Enhancement Grant from Indiana University’s Office of the Vice President for International Affairs, 2025.
Delegate at Future News Worldwide, a journalism conference organized by the British Council at Reuters headquarters in London, 2019.
Best Project Award at Interfaith Conference: Dialogue for Peace and Harmony, organized by ACWAY and University of Dhaka, 2016.