Welcome! I’m Zarine, a third-year PhD student in the Department of Human-Centered Design & Engineering (HCDE) at the University of Washington. At UW, I work with two research groups: the Center for an Informed Public and the Community Data Science Collective. I’m also an affiliate at UNC’s Center for Information, Technology, and Public Life (CITAP).
My research focuses on how online communities govern and are governed as they navigate disinformation, cyber-enabled influence operations, and related online harms. I am interested in:
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Top-down dynamics. Governance by platforms, governments, and international bodies.
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Bottom-up dynamics. The myriad ways online communities experiment with and enact models of self-governance.
I’m advised by Kate Starbird and Benjamin Mako Hill.
Previously, I was an associate editor at the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab), where I edited and researched investigations about disinformation and related phenomena. Prior to that, I was the assistant editor of the International Enforcement Law Reporter, where I covered cybersecurity and data protection issues.
I received my B.A. in Government and French & Francophone Studies in 2017 from the College of William & Mary, where I also worked as a research assistant in the Social Networks and Political Psychology (SNaPP) Lab studying the psychological underpinnings of political behavior, both online and offline.
Want to reach me? Send an email to zkharaz at uw dot edu, or send me a message on Linkedin.
