top of page

Biography

​Dr. Ahmed Alrawi is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Karsh Institute of Democracy at the University of Virginia. He earned his PhD in Mass Communication from the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications at the Pennsylvania State University. He also earned his master's degree in Media Studies and a bachelor's degree in telecommunications from the Bellisario College. Additionally, he earned another bachelor’s degree from the College of Communications at Al-Mansour University in Baghdad, Iraq, where he majored in computer communcation engineering.

Alrawi’s research interests are twofold:1) AI adoption, use, and effects at the individual level, social media, and online privacy, and 2) AI in digital journalism, and the implications of information and communication technologies (ICTs). Relying on survey, experimental, and computational methods, my research program aims to understand and clarify some of today’s most critical challenges facing democracies.

 

In the academy, he is active member of AEJMC, ICA, and TPRC. He has presented over 30 research articles at scholarly conferences focused on journalism, communication, and digital technology, hosted by professional organizations and universities worldwide. His work has received top paper awards from the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), the International Communication Association (ICA), and the Pacific Telecommunication Council (PTC).


To date, Alrawi has authored fourteen peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters, with six additional manuscripts forthcoming and five currently under review. Alrawi has a forthcoming book titled The Human Cost of Broadband Policies in Rural Iraq, under contract with Palgrave Macmillan and expected in 2025/2026. His research has appeared in several leading journals, including Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, Mass Communication and Society, Management Communication Quarterly, Journal of Information Policy, Surveillance & Society, and Journal of Religion, Media and Digital Culture.

Research Interest

  • AI (adaption, use, and effects)

  • Social media

  • Digital Journalism 

  • Algorithm  

  • Online Privacy

  • Information and Communication Technology (ICT) 

  • Qualitative Research Methods

  • Quantitative Research Method

  • Computational Social Science  

Education 

  • Doctor of Philosophy

      Communication Studies

      Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications,                                   The Pennsylvania State University (2024)

      Supervisor: Dr. Benjamin W. Cramer

      Committee: Prof. Christopher Ali, Dr. Jo                                                  Dumas, Prof. Sabine Doran

 

  • Master of Arts

      Media Studies

      Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications,                                    The Pennsylvania State University (2021)

      Thesis: A Proposal for a Law to Preserve and                                          Protect Digital Privacy for American Citizens

      Supervisor: Dr. Benjamin W. Cramer

      Committee: Prof. Patrick Parsons, Prof. Ford Risley

 

  • Bachelor of Arts

      Telecommunication

      Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications,                                    The Pennsylvania State University (2019)

 

  • Bachelor of Engineering

      Computer Communication Engineering (2012)

      AL Mansour University, Baghdad, Iraq

 

  • High School Diploma

      Almansor High School, Baghdad, Iraq (2008)

      Graduated cum laude; Trilingual [English, Arabic, French]

Publications

Peer-reviewed Book

 

Echoes of Exclusion: The Human Cost of Broadband Policies in Rural Iraq. Palgrave Macmillan [Under Contract]

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles 

 

Troy, C.; Buckley, C.; Alrawi A.; Kim, N.; Vafeiadis, M.; Overton, H. (2025). When Employers Speak Out: Examining Effects of Corporate Social Advocacy Through Belief Match, Organizational Identification, and Authenticity. Management Communication Quarterly.

 

Alrawi, A. (2025). Rethinking AI Power: Elevating Communities Through Decentralized Policy.  University of Virginia Press.

 

Alrawi, A. (2024). Hopeless Waiting and Apprehension of Missing Out: Evidence from Rural Iraq about the Cellular Broadband Policy Challenges.  Journal of Information Policy.

 

Alrawi, A. (2024). Blocking Faith: How American Muslims are Chilled through the New Anti-Statues and the Security Agencies’ Surveillance in the Era of the Digital Policing. Touru Law Review. 

 

Yuo, A., Min; R. Davis, D.; Zho, A.; Mitson, R.; Alrawi, A. (2024). Public Relations Meets Artificial Intelligence: Assessing Utilization and Outcomes. Journal of Public Relations Research.

 

Alrawi, A. (2023). Immigrants Are Not Felons: Legal Analysis of Immigrants' Civil Rights Chilling Effect Issues Caused by ICE's SmartLink App Surveillance.  Journal of Information Policy.

​

Alrawi, A. (forthcoming). Human or Machine? Perceptions of AI in U.S. Journalism and the Social and Technological Factors Shaping Its Reception. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly.

 

Alrawi, A., Oz, Mustafa (forthcoming). Technology Meets Theology: Understanding AI-Driven Wellness in Muslim Prayer Apps. Journal of Religion, Media and Digital Culture.

 

Alrawi, A. (revise and resubmit). X’s Privacy Paradox: A Case Study on State Surveillance and Digital Privacy Dilemmas. Journal of Information Privacy and Security.

 

Alrawi, A., Oz, Mustafa (under review). AI-Driven Digital Wellness: Emotional and Religious Support in Muslim Prayer Apps. Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research (JAIR).

 

Alrawi, A., Oz, Mustafa (under review). Mapping Behavioral Responses: American Muslims’ Reactions to Algorithmic Profiling in Prayer Apps. Journal of Media Law and Ethics.

 

Alrawi, A., Oz, Mustafa (under review). Navigating Identity Threats in Online Spaces: The Impact on Marginalized Identities and Political Engagement. New Media & Society.

 

Alrawi, A. (under review). How Much Will You Share? Exploring Information Privacy Concerns, Information-Sharing, and Perceived Control of Information. Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies Journal.

 

Alrawi, A. (under review). Bridging the Digital Chasm: Unraveling Broadband Policy Challenges in Southeastern Turkey's Fault Line Region. Telematics and Informatics.

 

Alrawi, A.; Jeong, D.; Guo, J.; Christopher, A. (under review). “It’s all the same to me”:

Consumer perceptions of 5G in China, South Korea, and the United States. Submitted to Telecommunication Policy.

 

Wang, R.; Forde, S., Alrawi, A.; Solis, E.; Jayakar, K. (under review). National domain name arbitration regimes: Convergence or divergence? Submitted to Telecommunication Policy Journal.

Book Reviews 

  • Alrawi, A. (2024). Review of Living with digital surveillance in China: Citizens' Narratives on Technology, Privacy, and Governance. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly.

​

  • Alrawi, A. (2024). Review of  Sentinel State: Surveillance and the Survival of Dictatorship in China. Surveillance & Society.

​

  • Alrawi, A. (2023). Review of New Authoritarian Practices in the Middle East and North Africa. Surveillance & Society.

​

  • Alrawi, A. (2022). Review of Fixing Stories: Local Newsmaking and International Media in Turkey and Syria., by Noah Amir Arjomand. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly.

​

  • Alrawi, A. (2022). Review of The Future of Digital Surveillance: Why Digital Monitoring Will Never Lose Its Appeal in a World of Algorithm-Driven AI. Surveillance & Society.

​

  •  Alrawi, A.(2022).  Review of American Propaganda from the Spanish-American War to Iraq: War Stories, by   Stephen R. Brydon. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly.

​

  •  Alrawi, A. (2021). Review of Media and Mapping Practices in the Middle East and North Africa: Producing Space, by Alena Strohmaier and Angela Krewani. Mass Communication and Society.

Non-Peer-Reviewed Materials

​

Book 

Alrawi, A. (2022). The NSA and FBI Privacy Breaches in the Digital Era, Issues and Solutions to the  Problem. Create Space Publishing LLC, Scotts Valley, CA.

bottom of page