David Nemer

Assistant Professor, University of Virginia

Presenter on Latinx Visualscapes Panel

From Airbnb to Casa Particula: the Costs of Emotional Labor in Havana, Cuba

An ethnographer with fieldwork experience in Havana, Cuba, Guadalajara, Mexico, the slums of Vitória, Brazil, and in the Appalachian region of eastern Kentucky, David Nemer is the author of Favela Digital: The other side of technology (2013). Nemer has written also for The GuardianEl PaísHuffPost, and The Intercept.

His research and teaching cover the intersection of science and technology studies, information and communication technologies for development, and human-computer interaction. This fall, Nemer will be teaching a course titled “Social Media and Global South Societies,” which touches on his ongoing research project. Nemer is examining the problem of online misinformation for democracies worldwide, particularly in countries in the Global South where democratic institutions remain in a beleaguered state. While most research and conversation on the subject of misinformation have focused on online platforms, such as Twitter, Facebook, and blogs, little is known about the spread of misinformation on mobile messaging apps, such as Telegrams and WhatsApp. These apps are particularly popular in Global South countries due to the quick spread and adoption of mobile phones in the region. Nemer aims to expand our understanding of the motivations and infrastructures behind the creation, sharing, and consumption of misinformation on messaging apps, and to build awareness and interventions to circumvent their effects.

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