Assistant Professor
American University

Welcome! I am an assistant professor of political science at the department of Politics, Governance, and Economics at American University's School of International Service. Before joining AU, I was a postdoc fellow at the University of Oxford's Reuters Institute. I earned my Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania in 2021.

My research examines misinformation, media, and politics, with a regional focus on South Asia. My work spans three substantive areas. (1) Countering misinformation: How can we make citizens more resilient to falsehoods? (2) Accountability for misinformation: How do we hold elites responsible for spreading false information? (3) Impacts of misinformation: What are the political and societal consequences of misinformation on violence, prejudice, and quality of democracy?

Methodologically, I rely on field experiments, original surveys, and primary data collection. I often collaborate with civil society organizations and government institutions to design projects that evaluate policy impacts and produce actionable evidence. My latest project involves a long-term randomized controlled trial providing education on misinformation to over 13,000 schoolchildren across nearly 600 villages in India (learn more here).

My work has has been published in academic journals such as the American Political Science Review (x3) and PS: Political Science and Politics as well as popular press such as The Washington Post. It has also been featured on podcasts such as Scope Conditions and Grand Tamasha, as well as Indian media outlets like The Hindu, Scroll, and Hindustan Times.

I hold an M.A. in Political Science from the University of Chicago and a B.A. in Psychology from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai. Outside of work, I enjoy hiking in U.S. national parks, going to indie/alternative rock gigs, and cheering (mostly suffering) alongside Philadelphia sports fans.

You can access my CV here and my Google Scholar page here.

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CONTACT

American University
School of International Service
Washington DC 20016

sumitrab[at]american[dot]edu