Blue Dong received the 2026 Top Student Paper Award from the Communication Law and Policy Division of the International Communication Association (ICA) for her paper, “Branded Public Interest as Public Good: Facebook and Google’s Three-Phase Transformation from Team Democracy to Team Trump.”

The paper examines how Facebook and Google have framed their corporate interests as serving the public good, tracing a three-phase shift toward “Team Trump.” Her research offers important insights into the relationship between platform governance, political power, and corporate strategy at a time when major technology companies are reshaping their public and political roles.

Dong is also an invaluable member of the Global Media and Internet Concentration Project (GMICP) headquarters team, where she supports the project’s research data and infrastructure behind the scenes. Her award recognizes not only an important scholarly contribution, but also the expertise and dedication she brings to GMICP’s ongoing work.

Congratulations to Blue Dong on this well-deserved achievement!