Technology and Democracy Research Hub
Mission
The Technology and Democracy Hub examines how social media, artificial intelligence, and emerging technologies influence political behavior. Through rigorous research and collaboration with community members and practitioners, the Hub generates insights with national impact, contributing to the broader understanding of democracy’s evolution in the digital age.
· Measuring Social Media Trends and Civic Participation: Examining how online discourse influences voter behavior, political engagement, and trust in democratic institutions.
· The Role of Generative AI, Polarization, and Misinformation in Democracy: Analyzing how emerging technologies contribute to the spread of false information, political division, and public trust in media.
· Platform Design, Policies, and Civic Engagement: Investigating how social media platforms’ algorithms, moderation policies, and content recommendation systems shape civic participation and democratic discourse.
Apply to the Internship Program
Are you a Rutgers undergraduate student interested in exploring how social media shapes society and politics? Consider joining the Technology and Democracy Research Hub Spring 2026 paid internship cohort, open to students from all majors.
Applications for Spring 2026 closed on December 1. Applications for the next cohort will open soon.
Spring 2026 Cohort
Bella Ayres
Bella Ayres is a sophomore double-majoring in English and Philosophy with a minor in Psychology. Bella is a legal intern at the Matus Law Group and the Internal Vice President of the Rutgers Pre-Law Society. She is also an Aresty Research Assistant, Staff Writer for the Rutgers Undergraduate Law Review, and a member of Phi Sigma Pi. She intends to pursue a law degree after college, specializing in estate planning or copyright law.
Daniel Benimovich
Daniel Benimovich is a sophomore at Rutgers with the Honors College, majoring in Biomedical Engineering with a minor in Business Administration. Daniel’s interest in understanding technology and its impact on civic engagement stems from an independent research project examining the relationship between social media use and the mental health of young men. Currently, Daniel is involved in pancreatic cancer research at the Cancer Institute of New Jersey and volunteers as an EMT.
Lewis Fang
Lewis Fang is a student at the Rutgers Honors College, majoring in Political Science and Piano Performance. Outside of the Technology and Democracy Research Hub, he is a research analyst for the Rutgers Consulting Group. Lewis is a self-published author of three books and enjoys researching aviation and misinformation.
Julien Thiberge
Julien Thiberge is a junior majoring in Electrical Engineering. Outside of political research, he is also involved with maintenance of autonomous underwater gliders for marine science research, works for the Princeton University Art Museum, and is a member of IEEE-Eta Kappa Nu Honor Society. He is particularly interested in the mechanics of propaganda and hopes to eventually work in ocean engineering and science policy.
Venya Tiwari
Venya Tiwari is a sophomore studying Aerospace Engineering. Venya serves as the Trade Study Lead for the Rutgers STAR SpiceSAT Structures Team. She has worked as a Consulting Analyst for the Rutgers Consulting Group and had worked as a Policy Fellow for the Spring Group Global Youth Think Tank. Venya looks forward to working at the intersection of engineering and AI policy in the future.
New initiative within the Rutgers Democracy Lab at the Eagleton Institute of Politics will examine how social media, artificial intelligence, and emerging technologies influence political behavior.
Contact
For questions or to get involved, please email Dr. Eyal Hanfling, Director of the Technology and Democracy Research Hub.