Muhammad Ittefaq

Muhammad Ittefaq is an Assistant Professor of Environmental Communication at Michigan State University. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Communication Studies from the University of the Punjab, Pakistan; an M.A. in Media and Communication Science from Technische Universität Ilmenau, Germany; and a Ph.D. in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of Kansas, USA. He is also affiliated with the Knight Center for Environmental Journalism, Muslim Studies Program, and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication (Mason 4C). Previously, he served as an Assistant Professor in the School of Communication Studies at James Madison University. 

His current research focuses on global news coverage of health and environmental issues, science misinformation, AI's impact on health and environment, and how different populations interpret scientific messages, make decisions related to health and climate, and support policies related to science.

Recent Publications

Mir, U., Asghar, M., Amjad, N., Amjad, U., Khan, I., Kifayat, S., Kifayat, S., Khan, M. A. J., Kobra, K. T., Wali, Z., Wali, B., Shafiq, S., Khan, A., Jamil, F., Ittefaq, M., & Khan, M. S. (2026). Pakistan’s HPV vaccination drive: Navigating trust, culture, and misinformation in a new era of immunization. International Journal of Public Health, 71. 

Ittefaq, M., Arif, R., Kamboh, S.A. (2026). Suicide and self-harm in the age of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI): The case of ChatGPT and rise of suicide-related lawsuits. Journal of Affective Disorders, 411.

Zain, A., Wen, T.J., & Ittefaq, M. (2025). Online-endorsed misinformation about climate change: examining the relationship between heuristic cues of perceived expertise, messages style and bandwagon to assess message credibility and sharing intentions. Cogent Social Sciences, 11(1).

climate change, environmental journalism, science communication, misinformation, emerging technologies