Sonam Wangchuk is an Indian engineer, innovator and education reformist. He is the founding-director of the Students' Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh, which was founded in 1988 by a group of students who had been in his own words, the 'victims' of an alien education system foisted on Ladakh.
@wangchuksworld
@Wangchuk66
Social Media and Society in India
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
April, 2025
The University of Michigan is hosting a hybrid conference on Social Media and Society in India April 4-5, 2025 , featuring a host of speakers to discuss various ways in which social media is impacting contemporary life and democracy in India. The event is in its fifth iteration at the University of Michigan and is a premier venue for conversations around social media and society in India.
Link to 2023 proceedings: https://dx.doi.org/10.7302/7881
Workshop session in progress
Saurabh Dwivedi fields a question during a session
Kaneez Surka engages in a discussion with panelists
Jacinta Kerketta delivers a talk
Speakers
Speakers include academic scholars, practitioners and digital influencers *
Engineer and Innovator
Sambhaji Bhagat is a Dalit activist and the music composer for Chaitanya Tamhane’s award-winning feature film 'Court'. Bhagat is the most widely known Lokshahir of Maharashtra and wears multiple hats as an author, poet and music director.
@lokshahirsambhaji
@lokshahirsambhaji
Music Composer
Ashok Kumar Lahiri is an Indian economist and a member of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly from Balurghat. He is currently serving as a member of the Fifteenth Finance Commission.
ashoklahiribjp
ashoklahiribjp
Economist/ MLA
Stephy Ann Tomy is a UK-based illustrator and the creator of the eponymous comic character, Stephy. A native of Kannur, brought up in Oman, Stephy remembers taking to drawing as a three-year-old kid.
@stephyanntomy
@stephyanntomy
Illustrator
Padmapriya Janakiraman, has been an actor in Indian cinema since 2004, prior to which she worked in risk consulting. She did her graduate work at the New York University and is one of the founding members of the Women in Cinema Collective
@padmapriya_offl
@padmapriya_offl
Actor
Azeefa is a senior reporter, primarily with the Breaking News team at The News Minute. She likes to do in-depth reports on LGBTQIA+ issues, human rights, health and law. Also, an aspiring translator. She is a Ramnath Goenka awardee and a recipient of Project SIREN Award 2024
@_azeefafathima
@_azeefafathima
Journalist
Sucharita is a prominent Indian film critic who splits her time between Mumbai and New York. With nearly 10 years of experience as a critic, she is best known for her popular movie reviews on YouTube, where she has built a community of dedicated fans. Tyagi also has extensive experience in broadcast radio. With a unique voice, she reviews films and discusses South Asian pop culture with honesty and passion through a contemporary, feminist lens.
@su4ita
@su4ita
Film Critic
Ria Chopra specialises in writing about Gen Z, pop culture, and internet culture – ultimately trying to better understand the experience of being human in today's world. Her debut book on the same will be out in 2025.
@riachops
@riachops
Culture Writer
Peeing Human is a satirical content creator with the stated goal of "Countering ideas of religious/cultural nationalism bordering on fascism using real history of India."
@thepeeinghuman
@thepeeinghuman
@thepeeinghuman
@thepeeinghuman
Satirist
Raqib Naik is the Executive Director of the Center for the Study of Organized Hate (CSOH), a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank based in Washington, D.C. He previously founded Hindutva Watch, a real-time data set of hate crimes, and India Hate Lab, which studies hate speech targeting India's religious minorities in the digital and offline realms.
@raqib_naik
@raqib_naik
Journalist
Pratik Sinha is the co-founder and editor of Altnews.in , an information verification and media watchdog website from India.
@free_thinker
@free_thinker
Fact Checker
Samdish Bhatia is the founder of online venture Unfiltered where he interviews politicians and celebrities about politics and general issues. Samdish is a former employee of Media-based website ScoopWhoop where he anchored the Unscripted segment.
@unfiltered_bysamdish
@unfiltered_bysamdish
Journalist
Nidhi Suresh is an independent reporter. After reporting in Kashmir for a year in 2017, she completed her Masters in conflict studies and human rights from Utrecht University, Netherlands.
@nidhisuresh02
@nidhisuresh02
Journalist
Tanzil Asif is a multimedia journalist-cum-entrepreneur. He is the founder and the CEO of Main Media. He occasionally writes stories from Seemanchal for other publications as well.
@tanzilasif
@tanzilasif
Journalist
Neha Dixit is an Indian freelance journalist covering politics, gender and social justice. She has been awarded over a dozen awards including the Chameli Devi Jain Award as well as CPJ International Press Freedom Award.
@nehadixit123
@nehadixit123
Journalist
Siddhesh is a Delhi based independent illustrator, visual designer, storyteller, educator, mixed-media artist, treasure hunter, fallen angel, and soul searcher.
@bakeryprasad
@bakeryprasad
Illustrator
Bhanupriya Rao is the founder and editor-in-chief of BehanBox. Prior to this, she has written in-depth articles on gender, political participation of women ,agrarian distress, migration, climate change and other issues for leading digital publications like IndiaSpend and Scroll.
@bhanupriya_rao
@bhanupriya_rao
Journalist
Makepeace Sitlhou is an award-winning independent journalist from India who has covered the country's Northeast region for several international publications. She was a Hubert H. Humphrey fellow at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Arizona State University 2022-23.
@makesyoucakes
@makesyoucakes
Journalist
Suchitra Vijayan is the author of critically acclaimed Midnight's Borders: A People's History of Modern India and co author of How Long Can the Moon Be Caged? Voices of Indian Political Prisoners. She is the founder and executive director of The Polis Project, teaches at NYU Gallatin and Columbia University, and serves as the Chair of the International Human Rights Committee at the New York City Bar Association.
@suchitrav
@suchitrav
Journalist
Nilesh Christopher is a journalist working at the intersection of technology, business and culture. He is a Harvard Nieman fellow 2025, based in Cambridge, researching on AI-generated content and how U.S. newsrooms combat deepfakes in politics.
@nilchristopher
@nilchristopher
Journalist
Kiran Garimella's research deals with using large-scale data to tackle societal issues such as misinformation, political polarization, or hate speech. Prior to joining Rutgers, Garimella was the Michael Hammer postdoc at the Institute for Data, Systems and Society at MIT. Before joining MIT, he was a postdoc at EPFL, Switzerland. His research focuses on using digital data for social good, including areas like polarization, misinformation and human migration.
@gvrkiran
@gvrkiran
Academic
Aditya Vashishtha is an Assistant Professor at Cornell University. His research aims to design, build, and evaluate Globally Equitable AI technologies to improve socioeconomic outcomes for historically marginalized communities.
@imadityav
@imadityav
Academic
Makarand R. Paranjape is an Indian novelist, poet, author of Body Offering a collection of poems. He is a former director at Indian Institute of Advanced Study (IIAS), Shimla, and former professor of English at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi.
@MakrandParanspe
@MakrandParanspe
Novelist
Neha Nagar is a finance influencer who provides expertise in the stock market, cryptocurrency, taxation, and trading. With an MBA in finance and industry experience, she has emerged as a reliable source for money management. She has collaborated with brands such as Federal Bank, SBI Card, Bank of Baroda, CRED, and many more.
@iamnehanagar
@iamnehanagar
Finfluencer
Viraj Sheth is the co-founder and CEO of Monk Entertainment, a media company that creates content for the Indian market. Monk-E manages over 100 creators, including Be YouNick, BeerBiceps, Niharika NM, Abhi and Niyu, Ruhee Dosani, Sanjyot Keer
etc. Monk-E has now expanded into multiple genres like music, comedy, fashion, beauty, and lifestyle blogging under his leadership.
viraj_sheth
viraj_sheth
Entrepreneur
Arjun Singh Sethi is a community activist, civil rights lawyer, and author based in Washington, D.C. He works closely with Muslim, Arab, South Asian, and Sikh communities and is an expert in policing, the war on terror, and racial and religious profiling
arjunsethi81
arjunsethi81
Activist
Santosh Yadav runs the Indian Farmer Instagram account and YouTube Channel. Widely acclaimed by several several media houses such as Times of India, Dainik Jagran, Economic Times, and Zee News, Indian Farmer presents a fresh perspective on the profession and future of agriculture in India.
indianfarmer
indianfarmer
Argiculture Influencer
Kunāl Majumder is a Knight Wallace Fellow at the University of Michigan studying AI, U.S. foreign policy, and entrepreneurship, focusing on leveraging public policy to enhance journalist protections. Previously, as the India Representative for the Committee to Protect Journalists, Kunal led efforts to document press freedom violations and advocate for journalist safety.
@kunalmajumder
@kunalmajumder
Journalist
Madhumita Lahiri is an Associate Professor in the Department of English Language and Literature at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, with a courtesy appointment in the Department of Film, Television, and Media. Madhumita is also affiliated with the African Studies Center and the Center for South Asian Studies.
@mmlahiri
@mmlahiri
Academic
Ram Mahalingam is a cultural psychologist, award-winning researcher, teacher, mentor, artist, and filmmaker. His current research concerns nurturing a caring and compassionate workplace that treats its workers with dignity. Ram is committed to developing leaders who are passionate about dignity with a mindful commitment to promoting workplace well-being.
Academic
* All speaker confirmations are subject to visa approvals and other logistics.
Organisers
Joyojeet Pal is a professor of information at the University of Michigan, working on issues related to technology and development, social media focusing on the Global South.
Associate Professor, University of Michigan (UMSI)
Todd Stuart organizes events at UMSI, including symposiums, workshops, guest speakers, orientation, convocation and commencement among others.
Events Manager, University of Michigan (UMSI)
