Rafael is the Research Coordinator of Democracy Reporting International, where he monitors the impact of social media on elections and referenda around the world. His work entails the development of methodologies and data analysis & visualisation to assess how social media impacts public discourse, offering recommendations on how to turn the online environment into a more open and democratic space. Prior to joining DRI, he worked for the Dahrendorf Forum, a Berlin based think-tank, where he researched the interaction between regulation, new technologies and democracy, and worked as a Google Policy Fellow for IPANDETEC in Panama City.