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Filippo Trevisan Associate Professor Public Communication

Degrees
BA International Relations, University of Trieste; MSc Political Communication, University of Glasgow; MRes Public Policy, University of Glasgow; PhD Political Communication and Public Policy, University of Glasgow.

Bio
Filippo Trevisan is Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Associate Professor of Public Communication at American University's School of Communication. He is also the Deputy Director of AU's Institute on Disability and Public Policy. His research examines how political organizations – parties, campaigns, advocacy organizations, and activist groups – use media to reach, activate, and organize people, especially those from traditionally marginalized and disenfranchised backgrounds. His work has focused on multiple countries including the U.S., the UK, Australia, and Italy.

He is the author (with Ariadne Vromen and Michael Vaughan) of "Story Tech: Power, Storytelling, and Social Change Advocacy" (University of Michigan Press, February 2025), which investigates how ‘hidden’ technologies (databases, algorithms, AI) influence which voices we hear (and don’t hear) in public debates in the U.S. and Australia. His first book "Disability Rights Advocacy Online: Voice, Empowerment and Global Connectivity" (Routledge, 2017) examined how new online self-advocacy networks transformed the disability rights movement in the UK and the U.S. He is also the co-editor of "The Routledge Handbook of Political Campaigning" (Routledge, November 2024), which reviews the state of the art and emerging trends in media, technology, and political campaigns.

Prior to completing his PhD at the University of Glasgow in Scotland, he was a reporter at the English desk of Italy's largest private news agency in Rome. In addition to his books, his research has been published in top communication, political science, and disability studies journals including, among others: New Media & Society; the Journal of Communication; Information, Communication and Society; the International Journal of Communication; Social Media & Society; the Journal of Information Technology and Politics; and Disability and Society. He has been interviewed, among others, by the New York Times, the Washington Post, the BBC, Al-Jazeera, Germany's DW and ZDF, Italy's Corriere della Sera and RAI - Radiotelevisione Italiana.
See Also
Personal Website - Research, Publications, Latest News
Google Scholar
Research Gate page
For the Media
To request an interview for a news story, call AU Communications at 202-885-5950 or submit a request.

Teaching

Spring 2024

  • COMM-533 Ethics in Strategic Comm

Fall 2024

  • COMM-551 Grassroots Digital Advocacy

Partnerships & Affiliations

Scholarly, Creative & Professional Activities

Selected Publications

Books

Trevisan, F., Vaughan, M., and Vromen, A. (2025). Story Tech: Power, Storytelling, and Social Change Advocacy. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press [available for pre-order, release February 2025]

Lilleker, D., Jackson, D., Kalsnes, B., Mellado, C., Trevisan, F., and Veneti, A. (2024). The Routledge Handbook of Political Campaigning. New York: Routledge [available for pre-order, release November 2024]

Trevisan, F. (2017). Disability Rights Advocacy Online: Voice, Empowerment and Global Connectivity. New York: Routledge (Now available in paperback).

Journal articles

Trevisan, F., and Farinosi, M. (2024). "Disabled influencers on Instagram: Exploring digital celebrity and marginalized identities," Celebrity Studies, 15(2): 209-230.

Trevisan, F. (2022). "Beyond accessibility: exploring digital inclusivity in U.S. progressive politics," New Media & Society, 24(2): 496-513. 

Fox, J., Pearce, K. E., Massanari, A. L., Riles, J. M., Szulc, Ł., Ranjit, Y. S., Trevisan, F., Soriano, C. R. R., Vitak, J., Arora, P., Ahn, S. J., Alper, M., Gambino, A., Gonzalez, C., Lynch, T., Williamson, L. D., & Gonzales, A. L. (2021). "Open science, closed doors? Countering marginalization through an agenda for ethical, inclusive research in Communication," Journal of Communication, 71(5): 764-784.

Trevisan, F. (2021). "Making Focus Groups Accessible and Inclusive for People with Communication Disabilities: A Research Note," Qualitative Research, 21(4): 619-627.

Trevisan, F. (2020). "‘Do You Want to Be a Well-informed Citizen, or Do You Want to Be Sane?’ Social Media, Disability, and Political Marginality," Social Media + Society, published online before prin. [open access]

Trevisan, F., Bello, B., Vaughan, M., & Vromen, A. (2020). “Mobilizing Personal Narratives: The Rise of Digital ‘Story Banking’ in U.S. Grassroots Advocacy,” Journal of Information Technology and Politics, 17(2): 146-160.

Trevisan, F. (2019). "Using the Internet to Mobilize Marginalized Groups: People with Disabilities and Digital Campaign Strategies in the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election," International Journal of Communication, 13: 1592-1611. [open access]

Trevisan, F. (2018) “Connective Action Mechanisms in a Time of Political Turmoil: Virtual Disability Protest at Donald Trump’s Inauguration,” Australian Journal of Political Science, 53(1): 103-115.

Trevisan, F., Hoskins, A., Oates, S., and Mahlouly, D. (2018). “The Google Voter: Search Engines and Elections in the New Media Ecology,” Information, Communication & Society, 21(1): 111-128. [open access]

Trevisan, F. (2017). “Crowd-Sourced Advocacy: Promoting Disability Rights through Online Storytelling,” Public Relations Inquiry, 6(2): 191-208. (Click here for a pre-print version of this article: Trevisan_Crowd-scourced advocacy_Pre-print)

Pearson, C. and Trevisan, F. (2015). “Disability Activism in the New Media Ecology: Campaigning Strategies in the Digital Era,” Disability & Society, 30(6): 924-940.

Trevisan, F. (2014). “Search Engines: From Social Science Objects to Academic Inquiry Tools.” First Monday, 19(11). [open access]

Trevisan, F., and Reilly, P. (2014). “Ethical Dilemmas in Researching Sensitive Issues Online: Lessons from the Study of British Disability Dissent Networks,” Information, Communication and Society, 17(9): 1131-1146.

Reports

Jackson, D., Coombs, D., Trevisan, F., Lilleker, D., and Thorsen, E. (2020). Election Analysis 2020: Media, Voters and the Campaign. Bournemouth: Center for Comparative Politics and Media Research.

Cogburn, D.L. and Trevisan, F. (2018). Accessibility in Global Governance: The (In)Visibility of Persons with Disabilities – Barriers to Effective Participation and Recommended Solutions. Washington, D.C.: Institute on Disability and Public Policy.

Trevisan, F. (2016). “The View from Across the Pond: Brexit on American Media” in Jackson, D., Thorsen, E., and Wring, D. (Eds.) EU Referendum Analysis 2016: Media, Voters, and the Campaign. Political Studies Association, Centre for the Study of Journalism, Culture and Community at Bournemouth University, Centre for Research in Communication and Culture at Loughborough University.

Media commentary

Trevisan, F. (2024). The Tories are trapped between Labour's left and Farage's right, La Razòn, July 8

Trevisan, F. (2022). Trump's Announcement is a Boost for Biden, ZDF Heute, November 16

Trevisan, F. (2019). Who's Winning the Democratic Debates? Here's What Google Search Trends Can't Tell You, The Washington Post, July 31

Trevisan, F. (2018). In Italy, Fake News Helps Populists and Far-Right Triumph, The Conversation, March 5.

AU Experts

Area of Expertise

European politics (Italy, UK), information technology and politics, search engines, grassroots advocacy and protest, disability rights.

For the Media

To request an interview for a news story, call AU Communications at 202-885-5950 or submit a request.

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