About
Dr Alex Herasimenka is a Lecturer in Data Science and Communication at University of Liverpool, working in the areas of the current political and social crises. His research and teaching focuses on AI harms, misinformation, social movements, and authoritarian political communication.
***Current Research***
Alex’s work investigates how pressure groups and governments use AI and social media to influence and manipulate public opinion. He also studies how the reliance on digital technologies affects political expression, organising, advocacy, and electoral campaigning. His recent research focuses on the cases of the political use of messaging platforms, such as Telegram, authoritarian contexts like China and Russia, and post-conflict societies, such as Ukraine.
Alex’s research and commentary writing have been featured in numerous media outlets, including the New York Times, BBC, the Washington Post, and Wired.
***Teaching and Supervision***
At Liverpool, he serves as the Director of the Data Science and Communication Master’s Programme. His teaching specialism is computational social science, AI policy and geopolitics, and political communication. He teaches such courses as Communication and AI, Big Data and Society, and Introduction to Data Science. Alex welcomes inquiries from prospective PhD students covering these topics.
***Earlier Career***
Alex was previously Director of Research at the Programme on Democracy and Technology at University of Oxford and a fellow at Oxford Martin School. He taught at the Department of Politics and International Relations, St Catherine’s College, St Anthony’s College, and Oxford School of Global and Area Studies at University of Oxford. He also taught at Middlesex University, University College London, and University of Portsmouth. He is currently Visiting Lecturer at the University of Westminster.
His previous career was in journalism and international development, particularly focused on Eastern Europe. After a very brief period in the IT sector, he joined a leading Belarus' youth media outlet and eventually became its editor. His work in international development focused on election monitoring and trans-border mobility. he was a fellow at the German Marshall Fund and a secretary of the Board of Trustees at an international charity.