Muhammad Ittefaq

Muhammad Ittefaq
  • Ph.D. Student

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Biography —

Muhammad Ittefaq is a Ph.D. candidate in the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Kansas. He completed his bachelor’s in Communication Studies at the Institute of Communication Studies, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan. He then moved to Ilmenau, Germany, where he completed his master’s in Media and Communication Science at the Institute of Media and Communication Science, Technische Universität Ilmenau, Germany. Before starting his master's in Germany, he was a print media journalist and worked for various media outlets including Daily Times and The Educationist. His primary research area examines how transnational media and health organizations communicate health-related issues within this hyper-technological environment and how people consume and engage with that health information and misinformation on social media. He has published several peer-reviewed journal articles in leading communication and health-related journals such as Journalism, Journalism Practice, International Journal of Communication, Journal of Media Ethics, Media International Australia, Vaccine, Vaccines, Health, Risk & Society, Digital Health, Third World Quarterly, and Psychology & Health. He has also presented his research findings at major national and international conferences such as AEJMC, NCA, ICA, IAMCR, and WCA.

Research —

Research interests:

  • Strategic Communication
  • Health Communication
  • Emerging Technologies
  • Health Misinformation
  • Health Disparities
  • Science Communication
  • Global South

Teaching —

Teaching interests:

  • Digital and Emerging Media
  • Strategic Communication
  • Crisis Communication
  • Media Ethics
  • Health Misinformation
  • Organizational Communication

Selected Publications —

Kamboh, S.A., Ittefaq, M., & Sahi, A. A. (Accepted for publication). Journalistic routines as factors promoting COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in Pakistan. Third World Quarterly.

Shah, S.F.A., Ginossar, T., & Ittefaq, M. (In press). “We always report under pressure”: Professionalism and journalistic identity among regional journalists in a conflict zone. Journalism.

Ejaz, W., Ittefaq, M., & Arif, M. (2021). Understanding influences, misinformation, and fact-checking concerning climate-change journalism in Pakistan. Journalism Practice.https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2021.1972029

Ittefaq, M., Kamboh, S.A., & Abwao, M. (2021). COVID-19 vaccine selfie: A modest endeavor to increase vaccine acceptance. Psychology & Health.https://doi.org/10.1080/08870446.2021.1957888

Ittefaq, M., Ejaz, W., Jamil, S., Iqbal, A., & Arif, R. (2021). Discriminated in society and marginalized in media: Social representation of Christian sanitary workers in Pakistan. Journalism Practice.https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2021.1939103

Ittefaq, M., Ejaz. W., Fahmy, S. F., & Sheikh, A. (2021). Converged journalism: Practices and influences in Pakistan. Media International Australia.https://doi.org/10.1177/1329878X211017329

Abwao, M., Ittefaq, M., Baines, A., & Liu, P. (2021). “The disabled community is still waiting for equality”: What do users have to say about sexual reproductive health of persons with disabilities in online news comments. Frontiers in Communication, 6. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2021.667627

Ejaz, W., Ittefaq, M., Seo, H., & Naz, F. (2021). Factors associated with the belief in COVID-19 related conspiracy theories in Pakistan. Health, Risk, & Society, 23(3-4), 162-178. https://doi.org/10.1080/13698575.2021.1929865

Ittefaq, M., Ahmed, Z.S., & Pantoja, Y.I.M. (2021). China’s Belt and Road Initiative and soft power in Pakistan: An examination of the local English-language press. Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41254-021-00212-8

Baines, A., Ittefaq, M., & Abwao, M. (2021). #Scamdemic, #Plandemic, or #Scaredemic: What Parler social media platform tells us about COVID-19 vaccine. Vaccines, 9(5), 421. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines9050421

Laeeq, M. L., Ittefaq, M., Pantoja, Y. I. M., Malik, A., & Raziq, M. M. (2021). Public engagement model to analyze digital diplomacy on Twitter: A social media analytics framework. International Journal of Communication, 15, 1741–1769.

Ittefaq, M., Baines, A., Abwao, M., Shah, S.F.A., & Ramzan, T. (2021). “Does Pakistan still have polio cases?”: Exploring discussions on polio and polio vaccine in online news comments in Pakistan. Vaccine, 39(3), 480-486. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2020.12.039

Ittefaq, M. (2019). Digital diplomacy via social networks: A cross-national analysis of governmental usage of Facebook and Twitter for digital engagement. Journal of Contemporary Eastern Asia, 18(1), 49-69. https://doi.org/10.17477/jcea.2019.18.1.049

Kamboh, S. A., & Ittefaq, M. (2019). Newspaper suicide reporting in a Muslim country: Analysis of violations and compliance with international guidelines. Journal of Media Ethics, 34(1), 2-14. https://doi.org/10.1080/23736992.2019.1568252

Ittefaq, M., & Iqbal, A. (2018). Digitization of the health sector in Pakistan: challenges and opportunities to online health communication: A case study of MARHAM social and mobile media. Digital Health, 4. https://doi.org/10.1177/2055207618789281

Selected Presentations —

Kamboh, S. A., Ittefaq, M., & Yousaf, M. (2021). Critical analysis of South Asian advocacy journalism practices for advocating environmental issues during the COVID-19 pandemic. Paper presented to the South Asia Communication Association (SACA) at Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, August 4-7, New Orleans, United States. (Virtual due to COVID-19).

Ittefaq, M., Kamboh, S. A., Iqbal, A., Iftikhar, U., Abwao, M., & Arif, R. (2021). Understanding public reaction to celebrity suicide cases in online news comments. Paper presented at Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, August 4-7, New Orleans, United States. (Virtual due to COVID-19).

Ittefaq, M., Ahmed, S. Z., & Pantoja, M. Y. (2021). China’s Belt and Road Initiative and soft power in Pakistan: An examination of the English press. Paper presented at International Association for Media and Communication Research, July 11-15, Nairobi, Kenya. (Virtual due to COVID-19).

Seo, H., Liu, Y., Ebrahim, H., Ittefaq, M., & Chung, D. (2021). COVID-19 pandemic and international students: A mixed-methods approach to social media, social support & mental health. Paper presented at International Communication Association, May 27-31, Denver, United States. (Virtual due to COVID-19).

Shah, S. F. A, Ginossar, T., Ittefaq, M. (2020). Renegotiating professionalism and journalistic identities: Small town journalists in Pakistan. National Communication Association, November 19-22, Indianapolis, United States.

Ittefaq, M., Sheikh, M. A., Ejaz, W., Yousaf, M., & Fahmy, S. (2020). The marriage of inconvenience: Perception of media convergence among journalists in Pakistan. Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication annual conference August 6-9, San Francisco, United States.

Ittefaq, M. (2019). Digital diplomacy via social networks: A cross-national analysis of governmental usage of Facebook and Twitter for digital engagement. International Communication Association annual conference, May 24-28, Washington D.C. United States.