Dr. Gabriel Malo

Gabriel Malo received his Ph.D. in Media and Communications from the Institute for Communications Research at the University of Illinois–Urbana-Champaign in 2025. His research interests include platform design, social media, the alt-right, design and algorithmic justice, disinformation, journalism history, game studies, gender and queer studies, and critical theories of science and technology. His most recent research centers around platforms, disinformation, journalism, and algorithmic biases, with a dissertation that is centered on the development of (and responses to) Reddit’s /r/The_Donald subreddit within the context of the history of right-wing media. Previously, he was part of the Platforms, Politics and Local News in Illinois research group, was one of several students assisting in the Just Infrastructures lecture series, was a fellow in the Seeing Systems research cluster.

In addition to his research experience, Gabriel possesses superior teaching skills, and was recognized in 2022 for his excellence in undergraduate instruction, becoming only of only five teaching assistants, out of a pool of thousands, to be recognized as such. His pedagogical outlook is informed by an appreciation for the potential of instructional technology to both enhance and challenge accessibility, diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Gabriel possesses a B.A. in English from Valparaiso University, and an M.S. in Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois. In his free time, he enjoys tabletop gaming, writing fiction, and developing content for collaborative online roleplaying.