David Nemer is an Associate Professor in the Department of Media Studies, and an Affiliated Faculty in the Department of Anthropology and in the Latin American Studies program at the University of Virginia. He is also a Faculty Associate at Harvard University's Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society (BKC). His research and teaching interests cover the intersection of Science and Technology Studies (STS), Anthropology of Technology, ICT for Development (ICT4D), and Misinformation Studies. Nemer is an ethnographer whose fieldworks include the favelas of Vitória, Brazil; Havana, Cuba; Guadalajara, Mexico; and Eastern Kentucky, Appalachia. Nemer is the author of Technology of the Oppressed (MIT Press, 2022), winner of the 2024 Sally Hacker Prize and 2022 Marcel Roche Award, and Favela Digital: The other side of technology (Editora GSA, 2013). He holds a MA in Anthropology from the University of Virginia, an MS in Computer Science from Saarland University, and a Ph.D. in Computing, Culture, and Society from Indiana University. Nemer has written for The Guardian, El País, The Huffington Post (HuffPost), Salon, The Intercept_, UOL, and CartaCapital.

NEWS

06.06.2024 - My book, "Technology of the Oppressed," won the 2024 Sally Hacker Prize awarded by the Society for the History of Technology (SHOT).

12.09.2022 - The Latin American Association of Social Studies of Science and Technology (ESOCITE) has awarded me the 2022 Marcel Roche Award for my book "Technology of the Oppressed".

02.15.2022 - Technology of the Oppressed was published by MIT Press.

02.10.2022 - Tecnologia do Oprimido is now available for Kindle (in Kindle Unlimited).

11.14.2021 - Technology of the Oppressed (Tecnologia do Oprimido) was published in Portuguese by Editora Milfontes. 300 first copies will ship for free.

11.11.2021 - I was quoted in the New York Times. "The Bolsonaro-Trump Connection Threatening Brazil’s Elections"

11.09.2021 - During my sabbatical leave, I will be joining Harvard University's Berkman Klein Center as a Faculty Associate. In the Spring semester, I'll be in residence as part of the Institute for Rebooting Social Media.

10.22.2021 - I was quoted in VICE. "Bolsonaro Is Taking From Trump's Playbook as Brazil's Election Draws Closer"

10.31.2020 - On November 5th, I will give a talk at the University of Pernambuco, Brazil about my forthcoming book: Technology of the Oppressed. 

10.29.2020 - I was quoted in CyberNews: "Twitter to launch Birdwatch, overlooks other anti-misinformation initiatives."

10.23.2020 - I'll be taking part in the round-table “Polarization and Hate on Digital Platforms.” Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil (Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais). 

10.18.2020 - I'll be co-hosting/organizing the workshop a@ ACM 2020 CSCW “Public Scholarship and CSCW: Trials and Twitterations"

10.02.2020 - I was interviewed by Estadão (O Estado de São Paulo): "Críticas a Marques quebram silêncio no bolsonarismo.” 

09.13.2020 - I was interviewed by Gaúcha Zero Hora: "As fakes news serão mais sofisticadas”, alerta especialista sobre eleições municipais" 

08.31.2020 - On September 4th, I will give the opening class of the academic semester of the Post-Graduate Program in Information Science at the State University of Londrina, Brazil.

08.24.2020 - I was quoted in The Intercept_ Brasil: "Crimes explodem no Facebook, Youtube, Twitter e Instagram durante pandemia."

08.22.2020 - On August 28th, I will give the talk "“The human infrastructure of disinformation on the bolsonarista WhatsApp.” at CyberLeviathan.

08.15.2020 - I was interviewed by O Estado de São Pulo (Estadão): "Fake news superam meio virtual e passam às ameaças contra alvos políticos"

08.14.2020 - My talk at 4S, "The Social Infrastructure of Misinformation that is Radicalizing the Right in Brazil," will take place on August 18th.

07.13.2020 - I was interviewed by UOL: Parler: rede social adotada por Bolsonaro facilita circulação de fake news

07.12.2020 - I was quoted in O Globo: No Twitter, 'novo' Bolsonaro deixa críticas e ataques de lado.

07.09.2020 - I was interviewed by El País: Derrubada de rede bolsonarista é “ação de relações públicas” de Zuckerberg, diz antropólogo

07.08.2020 - I was quoted in El País: Tércio Arnaud, o “rapaz das redes” de Bolsonaro no centro da trama desbaratada pelo Facebook

06.28.2020 - I was interviewed by Século Diário: 'Fake news terão um papel ainda maior nas eleições deste ano'

06.27.2020 - I was quoted in O Globo: Contas falsas do novo titular do MEC somam mais de 19 mil seguidores em redes sociais

06.26.2020 - I was quoted in A Gazeta: Governo do ES faz ofensiva contra ataques e desinformações nas redes

06.21.2020 - I was interviewed by Estado de São Paulo: “Bolsonaro não controla apoiadores mais radicais’, diz pesquisador.” 

06.10.2020 - I was quoted in Slate: "Au Brésil, WhatsApp prend le relais quand l'État défaille"

06.09.2020 - I was quoted in El País: "Sites neonazistas crescem no Brasil espelhados no discurso de Bolsonaro, aponta ONG"

06.04.2020 - I was quoted in O Globo "'Mídia programática': O algoritmo que alimenta a onda de notícias falsas."

06.02.2020 - I was quoted in Rest Of World: "Platform & dysfunction."

05.25.2020 - I was quoted in BBC News "'Eu era 100% Bolsonaro, depois do vídeo sou 500%': a reação de grupos bolsonaristas no WhatsApp à reunião ministerial"

05.23.2020 - I was quoted in The Hindu: "Right-wing militias on the loose."

05.14.2020 - I was quoted in The Circular: "From paid news to false news: Transiting facets of Yellow Journalism in Brazil"

05.19.2020 - I was interviewed by Época and O Globo: "'Israelenses estão incomodados com a apropriação da bandeira do país em atos bolsonaristas."

05.10.2020 - I'm giving the talk "From Misinformation to Extremism" on 05/13 in the Department of Communication at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

04.08.2020 - I published my new piece in Salon: "Is Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil's right-wing president, the new Jim Jones?"

03.16.2020 - My new piece got published in UOL: "Atos do dia 15: Bolsonaro torna-se refém de grupos radicais"

02.20.2020 - I will give the talk "From Misinformation to Extremism: How WhatsApp Is Affording Radicalization in Brazil.” School of Information, University of Michigan." at the University of Michigan on 02/25: https://www.si.umich.edu/about-umsi/events/misc-talk-david-nemer

02.17.2020 - I've published my latest piece in Salon on my research in Cuba: "As Airbnb grows in Cuba, locals suffer the emotional burden of entitled tourists"

02.14.2020 - Based on my research on WhatsApp and Misinformation I've just published my new investigative article in The Intercept_ "Eduardo e Flávio Bolsonaro são os criadores de grupos de WhatsApp de mentiras contra jornalista da Folha"

01.25.2020 - I was on The Heat (CGTN) debating “Bolsonaro presidency 1 year after he took office”

01.22.2020 - I wrote a piece for El País: "Instagram, uso político e ‘fake news’ em 2020."

01.17.2020 - I was quoted in EuroNews: "Joseph Goebbels quote controversy: Brazil culture chief Roberto Alvim sparks anger in video."

11.18. 2019 - I will give a talk (From Misinformation to Extremism: How WhatsApp Is Affording Radicalization in Brazil) at the Institute for the Humanities and Global Culture, Global South Lab, University of Virginia on 11/22.

11.04.2019 - I was interviewed by UOL Notícias about Fake News in the upcoming elections in Brazil: “Todo mundo vai usar fake news nas eleições de 2020, diz pesquisador” 

11.02.2019 -  I was invited to talk at the Online Falsehoods and Influence Operations Workshop organized by the Centre of Excellence for National Security (CENS), NTU Singapore.

10.27.2019 - I was quoted in O Globo:  “Perfis que se comportam como robôs ajudam a turbinar pautas bolsonaristas nas redes.”

10.25.2019 - I was quoted in the Belfast Telegraph: Joker stairs tourists say locals were ‘cheerful and warm’ despite complaints.

10.02.2019 - I was the opening keynote speaker for The Brazilian Congress for Library, Documentation and Information Sciences (CBBD). “Libraries and community centers as spaces for promoting democracy and combating misinformation and inequality.” 

09.23.2019 - I was interviewed by Carta Capital: O evangelho segundo os bolsominions.

09.23.2019 - I was invited by the Media Democracy Fund to participate in the "Dis/Mis-information, Dangerous Speech and Democracy" event in Philadelphia, PA.

09.19.2019 - I was quoted in UOL Notícias: “Rede de fake news com robôs pró-Bolsonaro mantém 80% das contas ativas” 

09.13.2019 - I'll be debating about “Bolsonaro and Brazil” in a Faculty Panel presented by the UVA Latin American Studies Program. On 09/17 at noon.

09.08.2019 - I was quoted in O Globo: "Bolsonaristas pragmáticos: quem são os eleitores que discordam, mas apoiam o governo” (in Portuguese). 

09.04.2019 - I was interviewed by UVA Today:  “Q&A: What the Brazilian Presidential Election Can Teach Us About ‘Fake News’.”

09.03.2019 - I'll be at 4S in New Orleans where I'll be presenting my paper "Airbnb and the Costs of Emotional Labor in Havana, Cuba."

08.31.2019 - I was interviewed by Diário de Notícias: “Bolsonaristas ferrenhos são cada vez menos e cada vez mais radicais” (in Portuguese).

08.24.2019 - My piece titled "Grupos pró-Bolsonaro no WhatsApp não se desmobilizaram com a vitória. Pelo contrário, estão mais radicais" was published in The Intercept_

08.16.2019 - I wrote an article for The Huffington Post and it's available in 4 different languages:

08.13.2019 - Our paper "Reproducing hierarchies or resisting domination: exploring the gendering of technology spaces in the favelas" was published in the journal Gender, Technology and Development.

05.13.2019 - I gave a talk at the University of Oxford in the Oxford Internet Institute. https://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/events/geographies-of-hate-uncovering-spaces-of-misinformation-racism-and-extremism-in-brazil/

05.02.2019 - I'll be giving a talk at the University of California San Diego in the Latin American Studies Lecture Series. https://las.ucsd.edu/ 

04.03.2019 - I'll be giving a talk at Data & Society in New York City. Join us: https://eventbrite.com/e/geographies-of-hate-uncovering-spaces-of-misinformation-racism-and-extremism-in-brazil-a-small-tickets-57556223213

03.15.2019 -  Our paper "They don’t leave us alone anywhere we go”: Gender and Digital Abuse in South Asia" wins Best Paper at CHI 2019! 

03.07.2019 - Our chapter "Living in the Broken City: Infrastructural Inequity, Uncertainty, and the Materiality of the Digital in the Favelas of Brazil" was published in digitalSTS: A Field Guide for Science & Technology Studies. Open Access on Google Books.

03.04.2019 - Starting Fall 2019, I will be joining the Department of Media Studies at the University of Virginia.

03.01.2019 - Our chapter "Rage against the machine: Negative reactions and antisocial interactions with robots" was just published in The Dark Side of Media and Technology: A 21st century guide to technological literacy.

02.26.2019 - I am the recipient of  the 2018-19 Faculty Research Award, College of Communication & Information, University of Kentucky.

02.14.2019 - I gave a talk about The Future of Work in the College of Journalism and Communications at the University of Florida.

01.27.2019 - I was interviewed by A Tribuna: "Tecnologia para o futuro dos jovens" (in Portuguese).

01.20.2019 - My article, co-authored with Jack O'Neill, "Rethinking MOOCs: The Promises for Better Education in India" was published in International Journal of Information Communication Technologies and Human Development (IJICTHD).

01.15.2019 - My first journal article in Portuguese titled "Repensando as Desigualdades Digitais: as promessas da Web 2.0 para os Marginalizados" was published in Revista Tecnologia e Sociedade.

01.11.2019 - I was interviewed by and featured on Globo - G1 (#1 news venue in Brazil) “O brasileiro que virou referência em antropologia da informática nos EUA para ter impacto maior no Brasil.”

01.10.2019 - Our essay "The human infrastructure of El Paquete, Cuba's offline internet" was published in Interactions.

11.03.2018 - I was Interviewed by UOL Notícias: “Análise: Justiça deixou a desejar, alertamos sobre fake news no WhatsApp” (in Portuguese).

11.01. 2018 - My research on Misinformation and Elections was featured on RioOnWatch: “How WhatsApp Turned Brazil’s 2018 Elections Upside-Down: An Autopsy Report."

10.31.2018 - I was interviewed by Quartz: “Fake news on WhatsApp swayed Brazil’s election. India should be worried.”

10.26.2018 - My research on Misinformation and Elections was featured on NiemanLab at Harvard: “What to know about WhatsApp in Brazil ahead of Sunday’s election.”

10.25.2018 - I wrote an Op-Ed for The Guardian: "The three types of WhatsApp users getting Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro elected."

10.24.2018 - We wrote an Op-Ed for El País: "Less communication in the name of democracy?" (in Portuguese).

03.30.2018 - My research on Selfies in the Favelas was featured on Thrive Global: “Selfie: it is not a novelty in the human desire for (self-)expression."