Dr Ella Muncie

Dr Ella Muncie is an ESRC funded Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the School of Social Sciences and Humanities. Ella’s research focuses on environmental communication, environmental activism, artificial intelligence, and digital technologies.

Prior to joining Loughborough University, Ella completed her PhD in Media and Communication at the University of Leicester. During her PhD she examined Greenpeace International’s evolving campaign communication strategies and organisational culture. She also holds an MSc in Social Science Research from the University of Leicester, an MSc in Environment, Culture and Society from the University of Edinburgh, and a BA(Hons) in Human Geography from the University of Sheffield.

After completing her PhD, Ella worked as an Adjunct Lecturer at Fordham University London, where she designed, developed and taught the course, Media and the Environment. She also holds Associate Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (AFHEA) and serves on the board of the International Environmental Communication Association (IECA) as Secretary.

Ella’s Postdoctoral Fellowship critically examines how environmental organisations are making sense of AI and are employing—or rejecting—it on a daily basis. Through analysing internal AI documents, interviews, and participatory AI sessions with key environmental organisations, this research considers how these organisations perceive AI, how their campaign practices are evolving in the process of interacting with AI, and whether they are developing genuinely ethical and inclusive AI frameworks. This involves examining the extent to which environmental organisations are mitigating two key AI-related risks: the marginalization of authentic, inclusive, bottom-up digital communication strategies; and impacts on credibility due to low quality ‘AI slop’, ‘hallucinations’, and the spread of new environmental disinformation.

Ella’s PhD, ‘Campaigning for the Future and the Future of Campaigning: Greenpeace International and the Emergence of New Environmental Communication Landscapes’, was an ESRC funded collaborative grant. It explored how one of the world’s most influential environmental organisations is adapting its campaign strategies in response to the converging climate crisis and digital transformations. The research sheds light on Greenpeace’s organisational structure, the future of its campaigning, and the role of emerging technologies in climate advocacy. This research is now under a publishing contract with Palgrave.

• Muncie, E. (2025). ‘Artificial Intelligence and New Voices in Environmental Campaigning’. Environmental Communication. DOI: 10.1080/17524032.2025.2554988.
• Muncie, E. (2025). ‘Mobilising in a Time of Crisis: Extinction Rebellion and Covid-19’. Journal of Environmental Media. [Accepted - Under Production].
• Muncie, E. (Forthcoming). Greenpeace International and Environmental Campaigning in Transition. London: Palgrave [Under Publishing Contract].
• Muncie, E. (2021). ‘Investing in climate solutions? An exploration of the discursive power and materiality of fossil fuel divestment campaigns in Scotland’, Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, 11(4): 537-547.
• Muncie, E. (2020). ‘‘Peaceful protesters’ and dangerous criminals’: the framing and reframing of anti-fracking activists in the UK’, Social Movement Studies, 19(4): 464-481. (1 of 20 articles selected to be free access as part of Social Movement Studies’ 20th Anniversary Special).