Find Ashwin Nagappa on
PhD (Queensland University of Queensland)
Dr Ashwin Nagappa is a Research Fellow at the QUT node of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society (ADM+S), where he works on the Australian Search Experience 2.0 project. His research examines how search engines shape everyday data practices and knowledge sharing, with a particular focus on how they uphold public interest values such as diversity and social cohesion.
Ashwin’s research focuses on the history of digital communication and emerging digital media technologies. With an interdisciplinary background in media and cultural studies, combined with expertise in computational analysis, he brings a unique perspective to studying the complexities of large-scale digital systems and navigating the research challenges posed by these opaque, fast-evolving domains. His doctoral research examined the adaptation of blockchain technology for social media, focusing on DTube, a blockchain-based video-sharing platform. This work highlighted the crucial role of community-driven experimentation in shaping digital technologies and produced valuable insights from the interplay between technological innovation and community dynamics. In addition, as a Research Assistant, Ashwin has investigated political discourse on fringe platforms like Gab and studied the nuances of fake news on Facebook, contributing significant insights into the intersection of technology, media, and society.