Sumitra Badrinathan

Badrinathan is an assistant professor of political science at American University's School of International Service. In 2021-22 she was a postdoc fellow at the University of Oxford's Reuters Institute. She received a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania in May 2021.
Badrinathan's research focuses on political communication in South Asia, with an emphasis on new platforms like WhatsApp and their effects on political misinformation, media trust, and the quality of democracy. She uses experimental and survey methods to investigate potential solutions to misinformation in developing countries along with the consequences of misinformation on political and societal outcomes, including violence, vote choice, polarization, and social cohesion.
Her work has appeared in academic journals such as the American Political Science Review as well as popular press such as The Washington Post.
She holds an M.A. in Political Science from the University of Chicago and a B.A. in Psychology from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai.