Cristian Vaccari is Professor of Political Communication and Co-Director of the Centre for Research in Communication and Culture at Loughborough University. He is the Editor-in-Chief of The International Journal of Press/Politics and a past Chair of the Information Technology & Politics section of the American Political Science Association. He is also a rapporteur of the Committee of Experts on Freedom of Expression and Digital Technologies of the Council of Europe. He studies political communication by elites and citizens in comparative perspective, with a particular focus on digital and social media.