Kevin Mudavadi
Ph.D. Candidate and Associate Instructor
Contact Information
Research and Creative Interests
- Journalism Studies
- Media Perceptions
- Disinformation
- Media Trust
- AI
Biography
Kevin Mudavadi is a Ph.D. Candidate at the Media School at Indiana University. His research primarily centers on the effects of disinformation and misinformation content on digital media platforms on individual decision-making. Additionally, he is intrigued by the relationship between journalistic roles and media perceptions among audiences, particularly in the context of misinformation and media trust. Kevin has researched various aspects, including media perception, disinformation, misinformation, and journalism, examining the Kenyan and United States contexts.
Kevin’s dissertation investigates how media audiences and news media professionals perceive and assess journalistic role conception 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 news metrics, online harassment, job satisfaction post-COVID-19, and the declining levels of trust in the news. These forces are potential threats to journalism, legacy media, and democracy.
Academic Publication
- Mudavadi, K. C. & Madrid-Morales, D. (In-press). Countering Political Disinformation. In S. Banjac, J. Swart, D. Cheruiyot, & S. Eldridge II (Eds.), Routledge Companion to Digital Journalism Studies (2nd ed.). Routledge.
- 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.
- 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
- 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).
- 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).
- Mudavadi, K. C.* (May 2023). Third-Person Perception of Digital Political Disinformation in Kenya. 73rd Annual International Communication Association Conference – ICA (Toronto, Ontario, Canada).
- Mudavadi, K. C. & Shanahan, J. (May 2023). Journalistic Digital Migration in Kenya. 73rd Annual International Communication Association Conference – ICA (Toronto, Ontario, Canada).
- 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).
- 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).
- 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).
- 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).
- 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).
- 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
- Fall 2023: Michael Haley Travel Grant for the 73rd Annual ICA Conference ($1,250).
- Fall 2021: Journalistic Digital Migration or a Fresh Challenge to Traditional Media Gatekeeping? Kern Scholarship Award for Innovation in Journalism ($2,500).
- 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).