Sergei A. Samoilenko

Assistant Professor

strategic communication, reputation management, climate misinformation, crisis communication, political campaigns, public relations, subversive communication

Sergei A. Samoilenko is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication at George Mason University. His research focuses on issues in strategic communication, reputation management, and subversive communication. He is a founding member of the Research Lab for Character Assassination and Reputation Politics (CARP).

Dr. Samoilenko has authored and co-authored several books including The Handbook of Social and Political Conflict, Character Assassination and Reputation Management: Theory and Applications, Handbook of Research on Deception, Fake News, and Misinformation Online, and other books and edited volumes.

Mason Media about Sergei Samoilenko:

Selected Publications

Google Scholar: Sergei A. Samoilenko

Samoilenko, S. A., & Simmons, S. (2025). Handbook of social and political conflict. Wiley.

Shiraev, E., Keohane, J., Icks, M., & Samoilenko, S. A. (2022). Character assassination and reputation management: Theory and applications. Routledge.

Minielli, M., Lukacovic, M., Samoilenko, S. A., Finch, M. with Uecker, D. (2022). Communication theory and its application in post-socialist contexts. Lexington Books.

Minielli, M., Lukacovic, M., Samoilenko, S. A., Finch, M. with Uecker, D. (2021). Media and public relations research in post-socialist societies. Lexington Books.

Samoilenko, S.A., Icks, M., Keohane. J., & Shiraev, E. (2020). Handbook of character assassination and reputation management. Routledge.

Chiluwa, I.E., & Samoilenko, S.A. (2019). Handbook of research on deception, fake news, and misinformation online. Hershey, PA: IGI Global. This edited volume was selected as a core reference title by IGI Global International Publisher in 2019 and 2020.

Expanded Publication List

Samoilenko, S. A. (2025). The tricksters of permanent liminality. In The Handbook of Social and Political Conflict. Wiley.

Samoilenko, S. A., & Erzikova, E. (2024). The role of public relations in an illiberal state: The case of Russia. International Journal of Business Communication. https://doi.org/10.1177/23294884241261

Samoilenko, S. A., & Cook, J. (2024). Developing a critical response to ad hominem attacks against climate science. American Behavioral Scientist. https://doi.org/10.1177/00027642241240352

Samoilenko, S. A., & Cook, J. (2024). Developing an ad hominem typology for classifying climate misinformation. Climate Policy, 24(1), 138-151. https://doi.org/10.1080/14693062.2023.2245792

Samoilenko, S. A., & Jasper, J. M. (2023). The implications of character assassination and cancel culture for public relations theory. In C. Botan & E. J. Sommerfeldt (Eds). Public relations theory III (pp. 452-469). Routledge.

Samoilenko, S. A., & Langley, Q. (2023). Character assassination and brandjacking in digital corporate communication. In V. Luoma-aho, & M. Badham (Eds.), Handbook of digital corporate communication (pp. 222-236). Edward Elgar.

Samoilenko, S. A., & Suvorova, I. (2023). Deepfakes in strategic deception campaigns. In E. Pashentsev (Ed). The Palgrave handbook of malicious use of AI and psychological security. Palgrave Macmillan.

Samoilenko, S. A. (2021). Character assassination: The sociocultural perspective. Journal of Applied Social Theory, 1(3), 186-205.

Compton, J., Wigley, S., & Samoilenko, S. A. (2021). Inoculation theory and public relations. Public Relations Review, 47(5), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2021.102116

Samoilenko, S. A. (2021). The cocreational view of character assassination. In C. H. Botan (Ed.), The handbook of strategic communication (pp. 76-90). Wiley.

Samoilenko, S.A., & Karnysheva, M. (2020). Character assassination as modus operandi of Soviet propaganda. In P. Baines, N. O'Shaughnessy, & N. Snow (eds), The SAGE handbook of propaganda. Sage.

Samoilenko, S. A. (2018). Strategic deception in the age of "truthiness." In I. Chiluwa (Ed.). Deception: Motivations, Recognition Techniques and Behavioral Control. Nova Science Publishers.

Education

Sergei A. Samoilenko received his master's and doctorate degrees in communication at George Mason University. He received his original M.A. and B.A. degrees in theoretical and applied linguistics from Kuban State University in Krasnodar, Russia.