Farhana Shahid

SHE/ HER/ HERS🙆🏽‍♀️

I am a Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) researcher working at the intersection of online governance, trust and safety issues in the Majority World (i.e., Global South). My research examines:

the unique drivers of fake news and deepfakes in the Majority World
cultural biases and systemic biases in automated moderation systems
culturally-aware approaches to address harmful content

I am a fourth year PhD candidate in Cornell Information Science, advised by Professor Aditya Vashistha. I completed my Bachelors and Masters in Computer Science and Engineering from BUET, advised by Professor A. B. M. Alim Al Islam. I also worked as a lecturer of Computer Science at Brac University and Eastern University.

Apart from research, I am very much drawn to books, concerts, jigsaw puzzles, long walks, and full moons.

Recent News

Mar 25: Gave a talk at Columbia HCI Seminar!
Feb 25: Presented my work on coloniality in content moderation systems at Cornell-Syracuse South Asia Consortium!
Nov 24: Presented my work at doctoral consortium in CSCW 2024!
Sep 24: Paper accepted to CSCW 2025!

Publications

2025

'One Style Does Not Regulate All': Moderation Practices in Public and Private WhatsApp Groups
Farhana Shahid, Dhruv Agarwal, and Aditya Vashistha.
Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction (CSCW 2025) [PDF]
Best Student Paper (Social Media and Society in India)

2024

Colonialism in Content Moderation Research: The Struggles of Scholars in the Majority World
Farhana Shahid
Center for Democracy and Technology

Conversational Agents to Facilitate Deliberation on Harmful Content in WhatsApp Groups.
Dhruv Agarwal, Farhana Shahid, and Aditya Vashistha.
Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction (CSCW 2024) [PDF] [Slides] [Video]

2023

Decolonizing Content Moderation: Does Uniform Global Community Standard Resemble Utopian Equality or Western Power Hegemony?
Farhana Shahid and Aditya Vashistha.
ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2023) [PDF][Slides] [Video]

2022

"It Matches My Worldview": Examining Perceptions and Attitudes Around Fake Videos.
Farhana Shahid, Srujana Kamath, Annie Sidotam, Vivian Jiang, Alexa Batino, and Aditya Vashistha.
ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2022) [PDF][Slides] [Video]

Examining Source Effects on Perceptions of Fake News in Rural India.
Farhana Shahid, Shrirang Mare, and Aditya Vashistha.
Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction (CSCW 2022) [PDF] [Slides] [Video]

2021

Leveraging Features from EEG and Free-Hand Sketches for Effective Diagnosis of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Farhana Shahid. M.Sc. Engg. Thesis, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, BUET.

2020

Leveraging Free-Hand Sketches for Potential Screening of PTSD.
Farhana Shahid, Wasifur Rahman, M. Saifur Rahman, Sharmin Akther Purabi, Ayesha Seddiqa, Moin Mostakim, Farhan Feroz, Tanjir Rashid Soron, Fahmida Hossain, Nabila Khan, Anika Binte Islam, Nipi Paul, Ehsan Hoque, and A. B. M. Alim Al Islam.
Proceedings of the ACM on Interactive Mobile, Wearable and Ubiquitous Technologies (UBICOMP 2020) [PDF] [Slides] [Video]

Learning from Tweets: Opportunities and Challenges to Inform Policy Making During Dengue Epidemic.
Farhana Shahid, Shahinul Hoque Ony, Takrim Rahman Albi, Sriram Chellappan, Aditya Vashistha, and A. B. M. Alim Al Islam.
Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction (CSCW 2020) [PDF] [Slides] [Video]

CSCW Honorable Mention Award

2019

Two Tell-tale Perspectives of PTSD: Neurobiological Abnormalities and Bayesian Regulatory Network of the Underlying Disorder in a Refugee Context.
Farhana Shahid , Wasifur Rahman, Anika Binte Islam, Nipi Paul, Nabila Khan, Mohammad Saifur Rahman, Md Munirul Haque, and A. B. M. Alim Al Islam.
Proceedings of the ACM on Interactive Mobile, Wearable and Ubiquitous Technologies (UBICOMP 2019)[PDF] [Slides]

IMWUT Distinguished Paper Award

Teaching

Appointments

Graduate Teaching Assistant

Department of Information Science, Cornell University

Aug 2021 - Present

Lecturer

Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Brac University

May 2018 - May 2021

Lecturer

Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Eastern University

September 2017 - April 2018

Courses Taught

Computer Graphics (Spring 2021, Fall 2020, Summer 2020, Spring 2020, Fall 2019, Summer 2019, Spring 2019, Spring 2018)
Pattern Recognition (Fall 2020, Summer 2020)
Artificial Intelligence (Spring 2020, Fall 2019)
Object Oriented Programming (Fall 2019, Summer 2019, Spring 2019, Fall 2018, Summer 2018)
Digital Logic Design (Spring 2020, Summer 2018)
Algorithms (Summer 2019, Fall 2019, Summer 2018)
Data Structures (Summer 2019, Summer 2018)
Operating Systems (Spring 2018, Fall 2017)
Mathematical Analysis for Computer Science (Fall 2017)

Courses Assisted

Technology for Underserved Communities (Spring 2023)
Computing and Global Development (Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2022, Fall 2021)