Okocha
Moses U. Okocha is a doctoral student at the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, with a concentration in journalism. With valuable industry experience as a broadcast journalist, Moses has worked as a news anchor and reporter, covering news beats in technology, health, and education. He is also a BBC and Reuters trained journalist with certifications in fact-checking and digital strategy.
Moses' research examines how emerging technologies, such as AI and virtual reality, are reshaping journalism practices while also investigating the dynamics of health and political communication, particularly their effects on public health messaging, the spread of distorted information, and the implications for civic engagement and trust in media.
He is actively engaged with the Center for Advanced Computer-Human Ecosystems (CACHE) lab and the Digital Media Attention and Cognition Lab, where he engages in several innovative research initiatives alongside other scholars.
EDUCATION
MSc. in Journalism and Mass Communications, University of Kansas.
B.A in Philosophy, University of Benin, Nigeria.
PUBLICATIONS
Seo, H., Burkett, K. M., Okocha, M.U, Ha, H., Chaif, R., Izhar, N., Coelho, M. B., Jona, B., & Iqbal, A. (2025). Social media activism and women's health: Endometriosis awareness and support. Digital health, 11. https://doi.org/10.1177/20552076251314905
Diwanji, V. S., Nguyen, N., Coelho, M. B., Burkett, M., Chaif, R. H., & Okocha, M. U. (2025). Pride, not prejudice: a cross-cultural big data analysis of consumer reactions to rainbow-washing in advertising. International Journal of Advertising, 1–28. https://doi.org/10.1080/02650487.2025.2477405
CONFERENCE PAPERS/PRESENTATIONS
Agoreyo, E., Dzineku, T., Okocha, M.U., & Issah, Z. (2026) AI Disclosure: Investigating Non-Disclosure of GenAI on Social Media in Africa. International Communication Association Annual Conference, Westin Cape Town South Africa.
Okocha, M.U, & Assmann, K. (2025). AI in rural nonprofit news: Navigating the balance between mission, transparency, public interest, and funding. AEJMC Southeast Colloquium, Community Journalism Interest Group, University of North Carolina.
Park, S., Wojdynski, Bart, Okocha, M.U., & Kim, J. (2025) Human Detection of AI-Generated Consumer Reviews: An Eye-tracking Study. Paper presented at AEJMC Midwinter Conference.
Shah, P., Hatfield, H., Kim, S., Flaker, L., Ni, Y., Okocha, M.U, Rodriguez, A., Mutic, A., & Ahn, S. J. (2025, June). Conceptualizing environmental racism: A 30-year review exploring the interconnections between racism, the environment, and public health. International Communication Association Annual Conference, Denver, CO.
Seo, H., Burkett, K. M., Okocha, M.U, Ha, H., Chaif, R., Izhar, N., Coelho, M. B., Jona, B., & Iqbal, A. (2024). Social media activism and women's health: Endometriosis awareness and support. Paper presented at the AEJMC Conference, Philadelphia, PA.
Diwanji, V., Nguyen, N., Chaif, R., Burkett, K. M., Barros, M., & Okocha, M.U. Keep colors bright all-year long: A big-data-based cross-cultural analysis of consumer discourses about “rainbow washing.” Paper presented at the AEJMC Conference, Philadelphia, PA.
Okocha, M.U (2024). Digital strategists: Impact of social media communication on Nigeria’s 2023 elections. Paper presented at the AEJMC Conference, Philadelphia, PA.
Etheridge, C. E., Izhar, N., Okocha, M.U,Mediated Civic Engagement: Online Activity and Community on the Indian Subcontinent. Paper accepted for presentation to the Open Division at AEJMC Southeast Colloquium 2024.
Awards
Second Place Faculty Paper (Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication), August 2024
