DR JOB MWAURA
I’m Dr Job Mwaura, a digital media researcher and educator. I study how AI and online platforms change whose voices are heard, how people organise, and how democracy works in Africa.
01 / RESEARCH & IDEAS
Who gets heard? Who holds power? And what changes when we understand technology from Africa?
CURRENT PROJECT / ERC-FUNDED RESEARCH
Through the SMALLPLATFORMS project at LMU Munich, I investigate platform governance and contentious discourse, with Kenya as a primary field site and an Africa–Europe comparative perspective.
Qualitative research and digital ethnography across Telegram, Reddit, TikTok and X.
About the project ↗RESEARCH MADE VISIBLE
Start with a poster. Read a short explanation. Follow the original research when you want to go deeper.
AI, YOUTH & DEMOCRACY
A visual guide to digital expression and state control in Kenya.
View, read or download ↗
JOURNALISM & COMMUNITY
What Kibera News Network reveals about reporting from within.
View, read or download ↗
AI GOVERNANCE & PUBLIC POLICY
Questions for responsible public-safety technology in Kenya.
View, read or download ↗02 / SELECTED WRITING
Scholarship, policy and commentary that connect research to the world beyond the university.
THE COMPLETE WRITING RECORD
Journal articles, chapters, policy, commentary, reviews and working papers from the October 2026 CV.
AOIR SELECTED PAPERS OF INTERNET RESEARCH
JOURNALISM · VOL. 26, ISSUE 5
DIALOGUES ON DIGITAL SOCIETY · ONLINE PUBLICATION
EVIDENCE BASED LIBRARY AND INFORMATION PRACTICE
SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH COUNCIL
THE CONVERSATION AFRICA
THE CONVERSATION AFRICA
AFRICAN STUDIES
Gen Zs, Digital Media, Elections and the Politics of Inclusive Democracy in Africa. Edited volume in development with Wits University Press, co-edited with U. Akpojivi, T. Ngomba and J. Ochieng.
Platform Power under Repression. Research agenda and manuscript examining AI, digital publics and democratic citizenship in Kenya’s Gen Z uprising, 2024–2025.
The technopolitics of AI surveillance in urban Kenya. Accepted for publication in the Journal of Eastern African Studies.
I’m Job, a digital media and AI and society researcher with more than twelve years of experience exploring technology, power and civic participation.
My work begins with the people who inhabit digital spaces: young activists, journalists, communities navigating exclusion, and those whose voices are too easily overlooked. I bring qualitative research, digital ethnography and policy analysis to questions that cross media studies, anthropology and politics.
I am a Research Fellow at LMU Munich, an Affiliate Senior Researcher with the UNESCO Chair in Cultural Inclusivity and Equity in Digital Media in Africa at the University of Johannesburg, and a Research Fellow at Strathmore University’s Institute of Public Policy and Governance.
My PhD at the University of the Witwatersrand examined digital activism in Kenya. Since then, my research has taken me through questions of scholarly publishing, AI ethics, citizen journalism and the politics of protest.
LMU MunichResearch Fellow · SMALLPLATFORMS
University of JohannesburgAffiliate Senior Researcher · UNESCO Chair
Strathmore UniversityResearch Fellow · Public Policy & Governance
PhD, Media StudiesUniversity of the Witwatersrand
Previously at the University of Cape Town, Stellenbosch University, Wits and the University of Embu. AoIR Executive Committee member, 2021–2025.
04 / TEACHING & EXCHANGE
I teach digital media, society and research methods, connecting critical concepts to African experiences and everyday examples.
My teaching spans university seminars, student mentorship and executive education in public policy and governance.
Discuss a lecture or workshop ↗Exploring how digital platforms shape participation, power and political expression, with particular attention to Kenya and East Africa.
Students connect readings to concrete examples of digital culture and public debate. Topics include content moderation, generational identity, extreme speech, protest cultures and the connections between online and offline political life.
EARLIER CLASSROOMS & CURRENT PRACTICE
2026–2027 · LMU Munich
African digital publics, youth participation, online activism, content moderation and digital ethnography.
Current seminar2023–present · Strathmore University
Designing, updating and teaching short courses for professional and policy audiences.
Executive education2023–2024 · University of Embu
Undergraduate and postgraduate teaching, curriculum development, academic coordination and student mentoring.
Programme lead & lecturer2022–2023 · University of the Witwatersrand
Social media, digital culture, privacy, participation and critical digital-media research.
Lecturer2018–2020 · University of the Witwatersrand
Undergraduate teaching in Media Studies.
Co-teaching / doctoral teaching2018 · University of the Witwatersrand
Undergraduate teaching in Media Studies.
Co-teaching / doctoral teaching2018–2019 · University of the Witwatersrand
Undergraduate teaching in Media Studies.
Co-teaching / doctoral teaching2019 · University of the Witwatersrand
Undergraduate teaching in Media Studies.
Co-teaching / doctoral teaching2019 · University of the Witwatersrand
Undergraduate teaching in Media Studies.
Co-teaching / doctoral teaching05 / IN CONVERSATION
Selected talks, workshops and spaces for exchanging ideas.
Facilitator & speaker · Immersive workshop · Center for Digital Dignity / SMALLPLATFORMS & British Council
Keynote panelist · Wikimania@20 · Nairobi
Association of Internet Researchers · Rio de Janeiro / Niterói, Brazil
African Studies Association Annual Meeting · Chicago
06 / IDEAS INTO PRACTICE
Alongside my research, I build digital products around practical needs in Kenya—from research infrastructure to event services.
These digital products are developed and operated under Innovapp Technologies Limited, a Kenyan technology company building focused platforms for everyday and professional needs.
Visit Innovapp ↗LET’S START A CONVERSATION
For research collaborations, speaking, teaching, policy work or ideas worth exploring together.