Saritha Irugalbandara (they/her) is a Researcher at the Center for the Study of Organized Hate (CSOH), focusing on digital extremism and online harms across South Asia.

A queer feminist from Sri Lanka, their research and organizing lie at the intersection of technology, expression, and accountability, with a focus on understanding how this nexus impacts communities in the global majority.

Previously, they were the Head of Programs at Hashtag Generation, a youth-led civil society
organization in Sri Lanka mobilizing social and new media tools to catalyze civic participation
and awareness-raising on digitally mediated harms. They are experienced in developing
intersectional and longitudinal methodologies for social listening, and designed and led Sri
Lanka’s first trilingual, longitudinal mapping of technology-facilitated gender-based
violence. 

In 2022, Saritha served as a gender and legal expert developing the Sri Lanka Code of
Practice for Online Safety and Responsible Content and has led national and international
mobilization on the Online Safety Act and digital authoritarianism in Sri Lanka. Their current
research interests include cross-sectional concerns around AI and digitalization, data, and
narrativization of marginalized groups in South Asia. Her research collaborations also include
work with the Association for Progressive Communications, Center for Innovation and
Governance Initiatives, CommonEdge Asia, and Delete Nothing.

Saritha holds an MA (Hons) in International Relations and Legal Studies from the University of
Aberdeen. They are also alumni of the Crossculture Fellowship offered by ifa (Institut für
Auslandsbeziehungen) and the Oxford AI and Media Policy Summer Institute.