Cherian George, Singapore, is a writer and academic engaged in journalism research, education and advocacy. His research interests centre on freedom of expression, especially in connection to journalism and public discourse. His new book, Hate Spin: The Manufacture of Religious Offense and its Threat to Democracy (MIT Press, 2016) focuses on religious intolerance in India, Indonesia and the United States. Until February 2014, he was an Associate Professor at the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, Nanyang Technological University. He launched and ran the Asia Journalism Fellowship, an initiative of Temasek Foundation and NTU. Before joining academia, he was a journalist at The Straits Times, where he wrote mainly on politics and served as the art and photo editor for three years.