Nigerian doctoral student places second in US communication paper competition
Paul Agada, a Nigerian doctoral student at North Dakota State University, has been named first runner-up in the 2026 Westphal Student Paper Competition. His research examined X’s Community Notes feature and users’ views of its effectiveness, credibility and influence on online behaviour.
Nigerian doctoral student Paul Agada has been named first runner-up in the 2026 Westphal Student Paper Competition organised by the Iowa Communication Association in the United States. Agada, who is studying communication at North Dakota State University, received the recognition for a paper examining X’s Community Notes feature. The study considered how users perceive the feature’s effectiveness, credibility and influence on their online behaviour.
A statement made available to Diaspora Tales said the research addressed concerns about the rapid spread of misinformation on social media and growing interest in alternatives to professional and institutional fact-checking. Community Notes enables users to collaborate by adding context to posts regarded as potentially misleading. The statement contrasted that approach with traditional fact-checking systems, which rely mainly on professional organisations or institutional gatekeepers.
Agada said the award recognised his study’s contribution to academic discussions about misinformation, digital-media credibility and the changing role of audiences in verifying information online. “I am delighted to have emerged as first runner-up for this competition convened by a renowned association,” Agada said. He described the result as evidence of the quality of the work and the importance of the subject examined.
He said misinformation remained a significant issue in society and argued that researchers needed to continue studying ways to limit its creation and widespread distribution. The supplied material did not state the identity of the competition winner or provide further details about the judging process. The recognition places Agada’s work within an ongoing academic debate about whether user-generated context can help people assess questionable online material.
His study focused specifically on perceptions of X’s Community Notes rather than establishing the feature’s overall effectiveness.
This independently written report is based on information supplied by the named publisher. Vertrix News has not independently verified the source report.