Viorela Dan

Viorela Dan has been Assistant Professor of Interactive Communication at the University of Vienna since April 2026. She earned her PhD with distinction from the Freie Universität Berlin. She subsequently served as a Postdoctoral Researcher (Akademische Rätin) at LMU Munich, where she also completed her habilitation. Prior to joining Vienna, she was Assistant Professor of Media Dynamics and Societal Transformation at the University of Innsbruck.

Her research focuses on human–AI interaction, examining how people engage with AI-generated content and the implications for journalism, political communication, and society. She combines theoretical contributions with experimental and content-analytical studies on deepfakes, disinformation, virtual humans, and fact-checking.
Viorela Dan has published more than 30 peer-reviewed articles in leading international journals, as well as a monograph, and has guest-edited a special issue. Her work has received multiple awards, competitive funding, and international recognition, including invited talks at universities across Europe and the United States.

She completed extended research stays at Indiana University, University of Texas at Austin, and BI Norwegian School of Management. Additional research and teaching collaborations have included University of Missouri, Central Michigan University, and Université Paris-Est Créteil.

Beyond academia, Viorela Dan actively contributes her expertise to practice: she trains journalists, participates in international audits of fact-checking organizations (EFCSN and IFCN), and regularly engages in public debates on AI and communication.

• since 2024
  Reviewer for the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) - assessment of compliance with the IFCN Code of Principles (IFCN) by fact-checking initiatives
• since 2023
  Engagement Editor of the journal Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly
• since 2023
  Reviewer for the European Fact-Checking Standards Network (EFCSN) – assessment of compliance with the European Code of Standards for Independent Fact-Checking Organisations (EFCSN) by fact-checking initiatives
• since 2021
  Member of the Editorial Board of the European Journal of Health Communication
• since 2011
  Member of the following professional organisations: Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), German Communication Association (DGPuK), International Communication Association (ICA)
• since 2011
  Peer review activities for specialist journals, including Communication Research, Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly (Top Reviewer 2019), The International Journal of Press/Politics, Journal of Communication, Science Communication, conferences (in particular for the annual conferences of the AEJMC, DGPuK and the ICA) and third-party funding applications (Swiss National Science Foundation, SNSF).

Organization of conferences and workshops

• 2025
  Annual conference 2025 of the specialist groups "Communication and Politics" (DGPuK), "AK Politics and Communication" (DVPW) and "Political Communication" (SGKM) on the topic Election Campaign Communication: Completely Different or Everything the Same? (with Uta Rußmann), February 26-28, 2025, Innsbruck, Austria.
• 2021
  Lunch Talk at the Centre for Advanced Studies of the LMU Munich on the topic Deepfakes: An Unprecedented Threat to Democracy?, May 2021, Munich, Germany.
• 2021
  Workshop at the Center for Advanced Studies of the LMU Munich on The reputational threat of scandalous deepfakes and their effects on voting intentions. May 2021, Munich, Germany.
• 2017
  Workshop at the Institute for Journalism and Communication Studies at Freie Universität Berlin on Verbal and Visual Framing Analysis of TV News (with Maria E. Grabe), July 2017, Berlin, Germany.