Biography
Dr. Madalina Botan works on digital governance, platform regulation, and democratic resilience. Her research and policy interventions focus on the structural impacts of algorithmic systems, systemic disinformation, and AI-driven threats to the information environment.
As an incoming Jean Monnet Fellow (2026–2027) at the EUI’s Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, her work addresses the intersection of platform accountability, AI regulation, and public policy challenges. Concurrently, she serves as the Vice-Chair for the European Commission AI Office’s Code of Practice on Transparency of AI-Generated Content, where she co-leads the drafting of landmark compliance standards for generative AI under the EU AI Act.
Dr. Botan is an Associate Professor at the National University of Political Studies and Public Administration (SNSPA), where she teaches advanced courses on algorithms, strategic digital ecosystems, and media studies. In her work, she blends empirical research with direct policy enforcement, regularly advising European regulators and coordinating cross-border monitoring networks.
Dr. Botan is an Associate Professor and Senior Researcher at the Media Studies Research Lab at SNSPA Bucharest, where she directs research initiatives on computational propaganda, populist mobilisation, and digital media architecture. She also serves as Vice-Chair of the Code of Practice on Transparency of AI-Generated Content at the European Commission AI Office, co-chairing the working group that defines operational rules for deepfake labelling and AI-manipulated text deployments under Article 50 of the EU AI Act.
In addition, Dr. Botan is the Coordinator of the Bulgarian-Romanian Observatory of Digital Media (BROD)-the regional hub of the European Digital Media Observatory (EDMO)-where she oversees independent fact-checking, platform data access compliance, and research on Very Large Online Platforms in Eastern Europe. Within EDMO, she is a member of the Expert Group on Elections, monitoring cross-border disinformation trends, electoral manipulation, and regulatory compliance across EU member states.
Furthermore, she acts as the Research Coordinator for the WHAT-IF Horizon Europe Project, investigating the interplay between rapid AI developments, shifting information ecosystems, and democratic resilience under stress. She also sits on the International Panel on the Information Environment (IPIE) Scientific Panel on Indexing the Information Environment, delivering independent, global scientific assessments regarding structural threats to global digital media health.