The Flow of Misinformation in Social Media Platforms

Misinformation is a defining challenge of the digital age, shaping political beliefs and public trust in institutions. My research investigates the mechanisms behind the spread of misinformation, with a particular focus on the factors that impact users’ media use and information credibility assessments. In my recent work, I explore how the users’ opinion leadership status in social media platforms can unintentionally intensify the persistence of false information.

Projects

• Unequal Penalties: User status dynamics in the spread of social media misinformation (published in Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication)
• The Medium and the Backlash: The Disparagement of the #MeToo Movement in Online Public Discourse in South Korea (published in the International Journal of Communication)
• The Social Mediation of Political Rumors (published in Journalism)

Political Communication in the Digital Age

Digital platforms can serve as both a battleground and a catalyst for public discourse. My research explores how individuals adapt and utilize new media platforms to communicate about public affairs and current issues. My current research examines public discourse that develops around hashtag movements to analyze how individuals strategically adapt discursive tactics to fulfill their communication goals.

Projects

• Dual Dimensions of Media Diversity: Cross-Platform News Use and Partisan Exposure (published in Persuasive Technology)
• Algorithm-driven news use and citizens’ political information engagement (published in Quality & Quantity)
• Who Controls the Narrative? The Dual Role of Contributors and Amplifiers in Online Activism (published in 2025 Proceedings of the Paris Conference on AI & Digital Ethics)
• Social media prosumption and online political participation: An examination of online communication processes (published in New Media & Society)
• The Dynamics of Public Attention: Agenda-Setting Theory Meets Big Data (published in Journal of Communication)

Digital Media Use and the Digital Divide

Digital media engagement is not uniform across generations or national contexts. Younger users often navigate digital platforms with ease, while older adults may encounter challenges that shape their social connectivity, information access, and mental well-being. Patterns of digital adoption and use also vary across countries depending on technological infrastructure, cultural norms, and platform ecosystems. My research investigates how different demographic groups across societies adopt and interact with digital technologies, and how digital literacy influences online and social participation and well-being.

Projects

• Responsible leapfrogging: Countering the automation of inequality in global mental health (published in Proceedings of the 2026 ACM Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency (FAccT), Association of Computing Machinery)
• Bridging Isolation: Digital Media Engagement among South Korean Older Adults