IMFD researcher Sebastián Valenzuela named fellow of the International Communication Association

Every year, the International Communication Association (ICA) holds an academic conference in which its members participate to share the latest advances in the field of communication.

This year, the annual conference is being held in Denver, Colorado, and on Saturday, June 14, after three days of presentations, lectures, and academic exchange, a ceremony was held to name fifteen new fellows of the association, including Sebastián Valenzuela, associate professor at the UC School of Communications, scientific director of the International Panel on the Information Environment (IPIE), principal investigator at the Millennium Nucleus for the Study of Digital Inequalities and Opportunities (NUDOS), and researcher at Millennium Institute Foundational Research on Data IMFD).

Being named a fellow is a high honor, granted mainly to academics who have made significant and lasting contributions to the field of communication, with particular emphasis on the quality and impact of their research. Upon receiving this distinction, the researcher said he felt proud, as this appointment "is the highest honor that the association can give you, which is recognition for your work as an academic."

Valenzuela's work has focused on understanding new technologies such as the internet, then social media, and later artificial intelligence: "I have tried to ensure that my research reflects these new developments. The research I have done, beyond being largely focused on Latin America and the Chilean context in particular, has constantly sought to investigate issues that are of concern in the present."

To be named a fellow, the academic had to be nominated by a member of the ICA who also holds this distinction. Professor Dhavan Shah, an academic at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, with whom Sebastián worked during his sabbatical at that university, prepared the nomination: "Sebastián is amply deserving of this recognition due to his distinguished contributions to the field of communication as a researcher of media, politics, and society, specializing in digital political communication and promoting communication academics in Latin America. He is a leading scholar in the study of how news consumption and social media use affect People political attitudes and behaviors, including the factors that contribute to misinformation and strategies to counteract them."

Professor Shah also highlights the impact of Professor Valenzuela's research: "His high-impact research on communication and citizenship examines how digital media influences various sociopolitical outcomes, such as social trust, participation in protests, conspiracy thinking, and political activism. His journal publications have generated more than 18,800 citations, an astonishing level for a mid-career scholar."

Paulina Gómez, dean of the UC Faculty of Communications, highlights the recognition received by Professor Valenzuela, emphasizing the quality of his academic work: "As a faculty, we are deeply proud of this recognition that ICA has given to Sebastián, with which the association distinguishes the serious, rigorous, and consistent work he has developed throughout a career that has made him a significant figure at the national, Latin American, and international levels. The impact of his work positions him, in fact, as one of the three most cited communication researchers in Latin America worldwide."

The ICA has approximately 4,800 members and 312 fellows, who had been appointed until 2024. Each year, the number of new fellows is limited based on the total number of members in the association. Only up to 0.3% of the total average membership over the last five years can be elected. This added up to a maximum of fifteen new fellows for 2025. In addition to Valenzuela, eight American researchers, two Australians, one New Zealander, one German, one Singaporean, and one Chilean, Professor Teresa Correa, a UC journalist, were honored.

Sebastián Valenzuela's appointment is the result of personal merit, associated with consistent and rigorous work, recognized internationally, which he has also carried out within the IMFD.

Source: UC School of Communications