WORKING PROJECTS

“Placebo-Augmented PICA (PICA-2) Design: Assessing the Influence of Foreign Propaganda” (Under Review) with Naoki Egami, Donald Green, and Dan Mattingly

Experimental studies of media effects have largely relied on “forced exposure'' designs in which subjects are assigned to view messages chosen by the researcher. The Preference-Incorporating Choice and Assignment design (PICA) has attracted a great deal of scholarly interest because it includes both a “forced exposure’’ arm and a “free choice'' arm, in which some subjects select media from a menu of options. We propose an important addition to the basic PICA design that greatly improves the precision with which effects are estimated among subgroups with different viewing preferences. Placebo tests made possible by this design help detect violations of core assumptions. We illustrate the advantages of our placebo-control approach using an original survey experiment conducted in five African countries that gauges the persuasive effects of Chinese and American propaganda. We find propaganda effects are especially large for subjects who prefer not to watch such messages.

“Before the Effect: Assessing Exposure to Partisan Media” (Under Review) with Taylor Carlson

Partisan media exerts a powerful influence on American politics. But experimental evidence often focuses on the counterfactuals, leading to a paradox: while we know much about potential media effects under forced exposure, the actual extent and nature of real-world exposure remain largely unknown. We focus on the most popular partisan news source, Fox News, and ambitiously assemble all available data on direct exposure (TV, web traffic, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube) over one month. We find that American exposure to Fox News is more limited than widely believed. Most online content from Fox News content online generates minimal engagement. But among a small subset of avid news consumers, multi-mode exposure is the norm. These findings underscore the limitations in single-mode media studies and the challenges of assessing indirect exposure. They also highlight the vital necessity of grounding scientific inquiries in a more realistic understanding of news media consumption.

”Copaganda: The Media Origins of the Attitudes Toward Policing in America” with Tyler Reny and Esteban Fernandez

Despite widespread evidence of police misconduct, most Americans continue to hold very favorable views toward law enforcement and the criminal justice system. Why? One potential explanation is the mass consumption of police procedural television programs. Americans watch an astounding amount of entertainment media, with police procedural dramas among the most widely consumed prime time programs in the U.S. These shows frequently portray police officers as heroic figures who single-mindedly pursue justice, quell violent crime, protect the public from predators, and root out corruption in their own ranks. Using a variety of national surveys and Nielsen data, we first establish the robust correlation between exposure to these shows and attitudes about policing. We then use an online survey experiment that adopts a preference-incorporating choice and assignment (PICA) design and field experiments in retirement houses in Tennessee to probe the causal impact of entertainment media.

“Broken Beacon? How Political Turmoils in the U.S Undermine Public Perception of Democracy in China” wiith Hanying Wei and Junyan Jiang

As one of the world's oldest and largest democracies, the United States has long been considered a global beacon of democratic governance. This article studies how political turmoils in America can undermine public perception of democracy beyond its borders. We compiled a list of a decade's worth of major political events in the U.S from the New York Times and matched their timing with extensive text data from social media discussions of democracy in China. Though China’s educated class has long revered America’s democratic principles, we demonstrate that major U.S. domestic turmoils---ranging from the Capitol attack to the murder of George Floyd---have significantly worsened the Chinese perception of democracy as an institutional ideal. We show that this is not a result of mediated exposure to American politics through Chinese news media but rather a direct and critical reflection of the scenes of democratic unrest. Our findings highlight that in a media environment without national boundaries, political turbulence in the West can have wide-ranging repercussions on international faith in democracy's promises.

(Newer) Projects in Progress

“America Above Fahrenheit 451: Political Geography of Banned Books'' (with Jane Esberg)

“Removing Political Bias from Partisan Media'' (with Naoki Egami, Amir Peder, Dominic Sobhani, and Hanying Wei)

“Making the New American Voter: How Social Media Influences the Politics of the Young Generation'' (with John Marshall)

“Rethinking Exposure'' (with Naoki Egami and Kirill Chmel)

“Digesting Politics: Food and Identity in Times of War'' (with Erin York)