Weile (Wendy) Zhou is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Digital Technology for Democracy Lab at the University of Virginia. As a critical-cultural scholar, she researches the reconfigurations of the digital public sphere and transnational journalism industries in the age of AI and geopolitical turbulence, with a focus on Chinese and American contexts. She is currently developing a book on the community of Chinese transnational journalists, examining their news practices, labor conditions, and career paths amid evolving local-global media hybridity. 

Previously, Wendy served as a postdoctoral research associate at UVA’s East Asia Center and Miller Center, and as a lecturer in media studies (2024–2025). She holds a PhD in communication from Georgia State University and a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Hong Kong. 

As a freelance writer, editor, and researcher, Wendy has contributed to nonprofits and media outlets including, but not limited to, The New York Times, The Atlantic, Financial Times, Al Jazeera, Foreign Policy, Quartz, the Global Investigative Journalism Network, the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, Caixin Media, and others.