Jianing Li

Jianing Li (PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of South Florida. Her work examines the intersection of mis/disinformation, contentious politics, and social inequality. She specializes in computational methods, quantitative methods, and mixed-methods.

Her research asks: How do people make informed decisions in today’s digital media environment with growing concerns over mis/disinformation, contentious politics, and structural inequalities? Her current work focuses on: (1) identifying discourses around and dissemination of mis/disinformation on digital platforms; (2) evaluating strategies to mitigate mis/disinformation, including fact-checking, content flagging, and digital literacy intervention; and (3) studying how the broader communication ecology interacts with identity and social inequality in shaping misperceptions, policy preferences, and support for racial justice movements.

Li’s work has been published in peer-reviewed journals including Journal of Communication, Human Communication Research, Political Communication, Mass Communication and Society, and Social Media + Society. Her work also appeared in edited collections including The Routledge Companion to Media Disinformation and Populism (2021), Cambridge Elements in Politics and Communication (2022), and “An Epidemic on My People”: Religion in the Age of COVID-19 (forthcoming), as well as in public-facing outlets including The Washington Post, Brookings TechStream, and MediaWell. Her research has been funded by the Social Science Research Council, the International Fact-Checking Network, and the Knight Foundation.Jianing Li (PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of South Florida. Her work examines the intersection of mis/disinformation, contentious politics, and social inequality. She specializes in computational methods, quantitative methods, and mixed-methods.

Her research asks: How do people make informed decisions in today’s digital media environment with growing concerns over mis/disinformation, contentious politics, and structural inequalities? Her current work focuses on: (1) identifying discourses around and dissemination of mis/disinformation on digital platforms; (2) evaluating strategies to mitigate mis/disinformation, including fact-checking, content flagging, and digital literacy intervention; and (3) studying how the broader communication ecology interacts with identity and social inequality in shaping misperceptions, policy preferences, and support for racial justice movements.

Li’s work has been published in peer-reviewed journals including Journal of Communication, Human Communication Research, Political Communication, Mass Communication and Society, and Social Media + Society. Her work also appeared in edited collections including The Routledge Companion to Media Disinformation and Populism (2021), Cambridge Elements in Politics and Communication (2022), and “An Epidemic on My People”: Religion in the Age of COVID-19 (forthcoming), as well as in public-facing outlets including The Washington Post, Brookings TechStream, and MediaWell. Her research has been funded by the Social Science Research Council, the International Fact-Checking Network, and the Knight Foundation.