Brigitte De Boef

Biography

I am a PhD student at the London College of Communication, University of the Arts London, working on the circulation, reuse, and recontextualisation of historical war imagery in contemporary digital environments. My doctoral project examines how archival images move from institutional collections into algorithmic feeds, where they are cropped, recaptioned, remixed, and redeployed within contemporary propaganda, disinformation, and verification cultures.

My research sits at the intersection of visual culture, media theory, propaganda studies, archival studies, and digital disinformation. I am particularly interested in how images acquire new political force when detached from their original historical contexts and reactivated through platform circulation.

Before beginning my PhD at UAL, I completed an MA in International Studies on Media, Power and Difference at Universitat Pompeu Fabra, where my research examined digital nomadism, urban desirability, and platform-mediated transformations of place. I also hold a BA in Media Studies from the University of Groningen, where my thesis explored print photography, material memory, and the emotional value of tangible images in a digitised visual culture.