Kevin Mudavadi

Biography

A former corporate communications strategist, Kevin Mudavadi, is a Ph.D. Candidate (ABD) at the Media School at Indiana University-Bloomington, IN, USA. He primarily examines the effects of dis/misinformation content on digital media platforms on individual decision-making. Additionally, he is intrigued by the relationship between journalistic role conception and audiences’ perceptions of media roles. Kevin has researched various aspects, including media perception, dis/misinformation, and journalism, examining the contexts of Kenya and the United States. 

His doctoral dissertation uses a mixed-method approach (survey and interviews) to investigate forces impacting how media audiences and journalists perceive and assess journalism and media trust in Kenya, a decade after a national study delved into this phenomenon. The study acknowledges the limited exploration of various forces, including the widespread dissemination of dis/misinformation on social media platforms, the influence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in journalism, the importance of audience news metrics, online/offline harassment, job satisfaction post-COVID-19 pandemic, and the declining levels of trust in the news. These forces threaten journalism, legacy media, and democracy globally.

Kevin is the recent recipient of (a $11,000) grant from the Eastern Africa Editors Society (EAES) to examine the usage of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in newsrooms in East African Countries (Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya). His findings have also been published in Journalism, Mobile Media & Communication, African Journalism Studies, and the African Multidisciplinary Journal of Research. He has contributed two chapters to books published by the African Feminism and Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Foundation and Routledge Companion to Digital Journalism Studies (2nd ed.). Kevin’s academic work has gained recognition at the highest level. At the 73rd ICA conference, his “Third-Person Effects of Political Disinformation in Kenya” paper was voted the Top Student-Only Paper.

Academic Publications

1. Mudavadi, K. C., Matanji, F., Layire, D., Tully, M., & Madrid-Morales, D. (2024). Stakeholder perceptions of regulatory responses to misinformation in Kenya and Senegal. Journalism. 
2. Mudavadi, K. C., Tully, M., & Lomoywara, D. B. (2024). Exploring Kenyans’ Interactions with Misinformation on WhatsApp. Mobile Media & Communication.
3. Matanji, F., Tully, M., Mudavadi, K. C., Layire, D., & Madrid-Morales, D. (2024). Media Literacy and Fact-checking as Proactive and Reactive Responses to Misinformation in Kenya and Senegal. African Journalism Studies.
4. Ochieng, J., Grabe, M. E., Ireri, K., & Mudavadi, K. C. (In-press). Mitigating information insecurity: An African perspective on satisfaction with democracy. The International Journal of Press/Politics.
5. Mudavadi, K. C. & Madrid-Morales, D. (2024). Countering Political Disinformation. In S. Banjac, J. Swart, D. Cheruiyot, & S. Eldridge II (Eds.), Routledge Companion to Digital Journalism Studies (2nd ed.). Routledge.
6. Mudavadi K. C. (2020). Patriarchy and Print Media Coverage in Kenya: An Analysis of Newspaper Framing of Women Politicians in Pre-And-Post 2017 General Election. In C. Kioko, R. Kagumire, & M. Matandela (Eds), Challenging patriarchy: The Role of Patriarchy in the Roll-back of Democracy. Heinrich Böll Stiftung.
7. Mudavadi, K. C., Nduhiu, N., Ochieng, L., Muriithi, M. & Odhiambo, C. (2017). Uses and Gratifications Approach to the Use of Facebook among Kenyan University Students. African Multidisciplinary Journal of Research, 2(2), 83-106.

Selected Learned Conferences & Symposia

1. Mudavadi, K. C., Bingbing, Z., Matanji, F. & Lomoywara, D. (August 2024). Examining news media and trust in political institutions in Kenya: The moderating role of perceived corruption and political freedom. 107th Annual Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Conference—AEJMC (Marriott Downtown, Philadelphia).
2. Lanosga, G., Mudavadi, K. C., & Houston, B. (August 2024). Long hours but lots of freedom: Non-profit investigative journalists’ diverging views of professional practices and values. 107th Annual Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Conference—AEJMC (Marriott Downtown, Philadelphia).
3. Layire, D., Mudavadi, K. C., Matanji, F., Tully, M., & Madrid-Morales, D. (August 2024). What is media literacy, and why does it matter? Perspectives of Senegalese social media users and media professionals. 107th Annual Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Conference—AEJMC (Marriott Downtown, Philadelphia).
4. Mudavadi, K. C., Hwang, J., Wang, W., Paxton, G., Ochieng, J., & Grabe, M. E. (June 2024). Third-Person Effects of COVID-19 Social Media Posts. 74th Annual International Communication Association Conference – ICA (Gold Coast, Australia). 
5. Ochieng, J., Mudavadi, K. C., & Grabe, M. E. (June 2024). Populist hustlers versus establishment dynasties: The contentious visual framing dual of the 2022 Kenyan election. 74th Annual International Communication Association Conference – ICA (Gold Coast, Australia). 
6. Mudavadi, K. C.* (May 2023). Third-Person Perception of Digital Political Disinformation in Kenya. 73rd Annual International Communication Association Conference – ICA (Toronto, Ontario, Canada). 
7. Mudavadi, K. C. & Shanahan, J. (May 2023). Journalistic Digital Migration in Kenya. 73rd Annual International Communication Association Conference – ICA  (Toronto, Ontario, Canada). 
8. Matanji, F. Tully, M., Madrid-Morales, D., Mudavadi, K. C., & Layire, D. (October 2022). Perception of and The Role of Fact-Checking to Combat the Spread of Misinformation in Kenya. Global Fusion Conference (Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania). 
9. Tully, M., Madrid-Morales, D., Layire, D., Mudavadi, K. C., & Matanji, F. (August 2022). Fact-checking as Process and Product: How Kenyan and Senegalese Media Professionals Combat Misinformation. 105th Annual Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Conference – AEJMC (Detroit, Michigan). 
10. Mudavadi, K. C., Tully, M., & Lomoywara, D. B. (May 2022). Exploring Kenyans’ Interactions with Misinformation on WhatsApp. 72nd Annual International Communication Association Conference – ICA (Paris, France). 
11. Mudavadi, K. C., Tully, M., Madrid-Morales, D., Layire, D., & Matanji, F. (May 2022). Understanding Roles, Responsibilities, and Regulation for Addressing Misinformation in Kenya. The 2022 African Digital Media Conference – Birmingham Centre for Media and Cultural Research (Birmingham City University, Birmingham, UK). 
12. Tully, M., Mudavadi, K. C., & Lomoywara, D. B. (August 2020). Health Misinformation in Kenya. 103rd Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Virtual Conference – AEJMC (University of California-San Diego, California, USA).
13. Mudavadi, K. C. (October 2019). Patriarchy and Print Media Coverage in Kenya: An Analysis of Newspapers Framing of Women Politicians in pre-and-post 2017 General Election. 3rd Biennial African Studies Association of Africa Conference – ASAA (United States International University–Africa, Nairobi, Kenya).

* Top-Student Only Paper – International Communication Association (Mass Communication Division – 2023).

Research Grants

1. Summer 2024: AI in East African Newsrooms: Examining Perceived Prevalence, Ethics, and Impacts of AI on Media Freedom, Citizen Participation, and Democratic Processes. Eastern Africa Editor Society in the context of the Africa Digital Rights Fund with support from the Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) ($11,000).
2. Fall 2023: Michael Haley Travel Grant for the 73rd Annual ICA Conference ($1,250).
3. Fall 2021: Journalistic Digital Migration or a Fresh Challenge to Traditional Media Gatekeeping? Kern Scholarship Award for Innovation in Journalism ($2,500).
4. Fall 2020: Effective Strategies to Counter the Spread of Health Misinformation around COVID-19 in Kenya and Senegal. Waterhouse Institute and the University of Houston  ($10,000).