IO-X: Detecting and Attributing Content-Duplicating Influence Operations on X (Twitter)
The Web Conference (WWW), 2026
About
My research examines the structure, behavior, and language of coordinated actors in online environments. I study how state-sponsored and other malicious campaigns disseminate misleading or harmful content, how duplicate narratives spread at scale, and how computational methods can help identify such behavior.
In addition to research, I have experience teaching and mentoring students in computer science. Prior to joining FIU, I served as a Lecturer in Computer Science at Stamford University Bangladesh, where I taught courses including machine learning, artificial intelligence, operating systems, software engineering, and computer networks.
This website provides an overview of my publications, ongoing research, academic background, and selected projects.
Research Interests
- Influence operations and coordinated inauthentic behavior
- Misinformation and online narrative propagation
- Toxicity, hate speech, and harmful language analysis
- Natural language processing for social media analysis
- Machine learning for social cybersecurity
Short Bio
Ph.D. Candidate at FIU with research spanning cybersecurity, social computing, and machine learning, with publications in venues including WWW, USENIX Security, ACM Hypertext, ASONAM, PETRA, and USEC.
Selected Publications
A curated list of selected publications. This section can later be expanded into full conference, journal, workshop, and preprint categories.
Toxicity in State Sponsored Information Operations
ACM Hypertext, 2025
Duplicating Deceit: Inauthentic Behavior Among Indian Misinformation Duplicators on X/Twitter
ASONAM, 2025
The Language of Influence: Sentiment, Emotion, and Hate Speech in State Sponsored Influence Operations
PETRA, 2025
Victim-Centred Abuse Investigations and Defenses for Social Media Platforms
USEC, 2025
Strategies and Vulnerabilities of Participants in Venezuelan Influence Operations
USENIX Security, 2023
Research
Influence Operations and Duplicate Content
I investigate how coordinated actors use repeated or near-duplicate content to amplify narratives and manipulate attention across social media platforms. This line of work includes campaign discovery, account attribution, and large-scale behavioral analysis.
Harmful Language in Information Operations
My research studies toxic language, hate speech, sentiment, and emotion in influence operations, with emphasis on how malicious actors frame messages to attract engagement, intensify polarization, or target specific groups.
Platform Safety and Abuse Defenses
I also contribute to work on abuse investigations and practical defenses for online platforms, particularly approaches that center the experiences and needs of users affected by harmful online behavior.
Methods
- Natural language processing
- Machine learning
- Large-scale social media analysis
- Computational social science
- Reproducible data pipelines
Ongoing Direction
My current work seeks to better understand coordinated influence behavior through textual duplication, narrative spread, and harmful content analysis, while developing more robust and scalable detection methods.
Academic Experience
Graduate Research Assistant
Conduct research on influence operations, misinformation, and coordinated malicious activity on social media. Develop computational methods and data analysis pipelines for studying large-scale online behavior.
Graduate Teaching Assistant
Assisted with teaching, grading, and student support for courses in Java programming, software engineering, programming laboratory instruction, and computer data analysis.
Lecturer, Department of Computer Science and Engineering
Taught undergraduate courses including machine learning, artificial intelligence, operating systems, software engineering, data communication, and computer networks.
Education
Florida International University
Knight Foundation School of Computing and Information Sciences
Florida International University
Knight Foundation School of Computing and Information Sciences
GPA: 4.00/4.00
Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology
GPA: 3.90/4.00
Rank: 2nd out of 108 students
Awards and Recognition
FIU Dissertation Fellowship
Recognized for doctoral research achievement, publication record, and academic excellence.
ACM SIGWEB Travel Grant
Travel support for participation in ACM Hypertext 2025.
FIU GPSC Travel Funding
Travel support for participation in ASONAM 2025.
AUST Dean's List of Honor
Academic distinction for outstanding undergraduate performance.
Contact
I welcome inquiries related to research collaboration, academic opportunities, invited talks, and professional engagement.
Email: ashaf016[at]fiu[dot]edu
Office: 800 SW 107th Avenue, INV 319, Miami, FL 33199