A lecturer at Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Dr. Darlington Nwachukwu, has emerged winner of the Best Paper Award at an international academic conference held in the United States.
Dr. Nwachukwu, a PhD graduate of the institution’s Department of Marketing, Faculty of Administration and Management, clinched the award at the 96th Southern States Communication Association Annual Convention held in Birmingham, Alabama.
The conference, themed “Community: Conversations in the Age of Intelligence,” took place on April 10, 2026, at the Sheraton Hotel. At the event, Dr. Nwachukwu co-presented an award-winning paper titled “Understanding Public Reaction and Resistance to the TikTok Ban: A Textual Analysis.”
The study examined 170 long-form news articles from 32 leading global media outlets, highlighting how the TikTok ban reflects broader concerns such as techno-nationalism, data colonialism, platform governance, and patterns of public resistance.
Dr. Nwachukwu holds a PhD in Marketing from IAUE and is currently pursuing a second PhD in Communication and Information Science at the University of Alabama, with a specialization in Advertising and Public Relations.
In addition to the SSCA recognition, he also presented another award-winning paper at the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics Annual Conference held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in St. Louis, Missouri, contributing to global discourse on ethics and communication.
The academic has reaffirmed his commitment to impactful research and the use of strategic communication to drive positive societal change.
