Letters from the Director

Letter from the Director: November 2024

By ajk90November 18th, 2024in Homepage, Letters From the Director

Election 2024 Debrief: Insights from Communication Research

By: Michelle Amazeen

Since November 5th, there has been ongoing reflection on why the election ultimately favored Trump, particularly given his frequent use of misleading or false claims. For those who study media and communication, the link between misinformation and voting behavior is concerning. A Reuters/Ipsos poll found that Americans misinformed about crime rates, the economy, and immigration were more likely to vote for Trump.

One critical factor not fully captured by polling data is the persistence of high prices on essentials like groceries and housing, despite a decrease in inflation over the past year. If people struggle to put food on the table or keep up with rent, that tangible economic hardship outweighs broader statistical trends.

At the same time, the constant barrage of misinformation – spread through ads, news programming, and social media – can create an illusory truth effect where repetition makes false claims seem credible. This repetition led many to believe that issues like border crossings and inflation remained out-of-control, despite evidence suggesting otherwise.

In understanding the election outcome, it’s also important to consider the quickly evolving media environment and changes in how people are getting their news and information. These are topics I have explored in-depth with my students throughout the year. Podcasts, for example, are an increasingly popular medium for news, with nearly half of US adults having listened to at least one in the past month, according to Statista. Both presidential candidates tapped into this trend, appearing on influential podcasts such as Joe Rogan’s (Trump) and Howard Stern’s (Harris). Simultaneously, many Americans are turning away from traditional news outlets and are seeking information online from alternative sources and influencers. Even some prominent journalists have left legacy media to strike out on their own (see Kara Swisher, Taylor Lorenz, and Chris Wallace).

Social media has also become a dominant news source. More than half (54%) of US adults, and over three-quarters (78%) of young adults aged 18-24, get their news from social media at least occasionally. My students, drawing from their own experiences and research, tell me that young people prefer social media for news because it’s accessible, caters to shorter attention spans, and—importantly—is free. With paid news subscriptions largely unappealing to young audiences, free access on platforms like Instagram and TikTok is more attractive.

However, these alternative news sources often lack the commitment to journalistic principles like verification and accuracy. Since Twitter’s rebranding to X, the platform has become a significant vector for misinformation. Facebook has also deemphasized its role as a news source, removing its news tab and ending licensing deals with publishers. While some news influencers strive to engage and inform audiences, foreign adversaries have also leveraged the influence of certain content creators to spread conspiratorial narratives that deepen existing societal divisions.

The election outcome highlights how emotional narratives held more sway than facts and logic. Interestingly, my research with Dr. Arunima Krishna has shown that narrative-based counter-messaging can help combat misinformation. This offers a hopeful silver lining for our communication students, who are learning to become the emotionally resonant storytellers of tomorrow.

To make communication research more accessible to the public, the CRC recently launched The COMversation, a podcast that connects academic insights with current events. Hosted by Dr. Charlotte Howell, the debut episode dives into the evolving norms of communication and the role of misinformation in politics, providing listeners with an engaging, in-depth discussion on these timely issues.

If you're interested in exploring how communication research informs our understanding of current events, join us on The COMversation. Listen to the latest episode, share it with your network, and be part of a conversation that strives for a more informed and engaged public.

Letter from the Director: October 2024

By Michelle AmazeenOctober 17th, 2024in Homepage, Letters From the Director

Resisting the Era of Darkening: The Researcher Support Consortium

By: Michelle Amazeen

Last week, I moderated a panel of experts on the growing intimidation and harassment faced by researchers studying misinformation. As I’ve noted in previous writings, scholars investigating the origins, spread, and impacts of misinformation are increasingly becoming targets of congressional hearings, subpoenas, doxxing, and other forms of abuse. According to reports in the New York Times and the Washington Post, these attacks are often framed as reactions to alleged political bias and the suppression of conservative speech. Rather than debating the merits of this argument – which lacks empirical support –my focus is on highlighting the assaults on misinformation researchers. My goal is to raise awareness of this issue, help researchers access the support they need to continue their vital work, and to urge institutions to implement protections for these researchers.

Efforts to silence those presenting scientific evidence that challenges prevailing beliefs are far from new. In the 1500s, Copernicus, whose heliocentric theory contradicted the Catholic Church’s geocentric view that the Earth was the center of the universe, was denounced for proposing that the Earth orbits the sun. Galileo, who defended this theory, spent the final years of his life under house arrest as a result. During Nazi Germany’s Third Reich (1933-1945), scholars who produced evidence contradicting Nazi ideology, particularly the belief in a “Master race,” faced imprisonment, exile, or worse. And for years, the US tobacco industry attempted to raise doubt, discredit, and derail the work of scientists providing evidence of the connection between smoking and cancer. This strategic suppression has been repeated against those raising alarms about climate change, those studying vaccines, and, more recently, misinformation researchers.

Intimidation and harassment of scientific experts has become an occupational hazard. Nearly half of US researchers report that they or someone they know has been a target. Among climate scientists who have been quoted in the media at least once a month, almost 3 in 4 have experienced abuse. It’s even worse for scientists who are women or from underrepresented groups.

Coordinated campaigns targeting researchers have far-reaching personal, professional, and societal consequences. On a personal level, those attacked often experience heightened anxiety, depression and social withdrawal. Professionally, these researchers are more likely to self-censor, limit the public availability of their work, or even leave the field entirely. As a result, public trust in scientific experts and higher education erodes, stifling informed discourse and debate. Ultimately, we are moving away from the age of enlightenment into an era of darkening where science, empirical evidence, and rationality are obscured.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. The Researcher Support Consortium has compiled resources to assist those under attack and provides guidance to organizations on how to effectively address their needs. Researchers can empower themselves by planning ways to mitigate risks, by developing strategic response strategies, and by connecting with a broader community of supporters.

Institutions have an important role to play in supporting researchers, as well. The Researcher Support Consortium offers a toolkit of practical and actionable steps that institutions can take to prepare for attacks. Steps include setting up researcher support and response teams, understanding how to effectively communicate with impacted researchers, and responding to incidents of abuse while both protecting the needs of the researcher and the reputation of the institution.

To this end, the CRC has issued a statement on researcher intimidation and harassment, which is available in full here. The CRC views these threats as serious occupational hazards and is committed to 1) raising awareness of these challenges, 2) creating robust policies and protocols to safeguard researchers, and 3) fostering an environment that empowers our research fellows to continue their important work in addressing contemporary societal challenges.

Thank you to the researchers who have established the Researcher Support Consortium, a valuable resource that will benefit many.

Letter from the Director: September 2024

By ajk90September 3rd, 2024in Homepage, Letters From the Director

Back-to-School 2024

By: Michelle Amazeen

A group photo at AEJMC 2024 — Pictured at the 2024 AEJMC conference in Philadelphia: Dr. Cen April Yue, Dr. Arunima Krishna, Dr. Sung-Un Yang, Dr. Michelle Amazeen, and Dr. Ejae Lee.

The fall semester is upon us, and I hope CRC fellows are re-engaging with renewed energy and enthusiasm. Over the summer, many of us turned to advancing our research efforts and sharing our work on the academic conference circuit. COM was well represented at the International Communication Association in Gold Coast, Australia and also at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

As of July 1st, the CRC welcomed five new scholars: Dr. Sung-Un Yang, Professor and Chair, Department of Mass Communication, Advertising and Public Relations; Dr. Juwon Hwang, Assistant Professor of Media Science; Dr. Ejae Lee, Assistant Professor of Public Relations; Dr. Ayse Lokmanoglu, Assistant Professor of Emerging Media Studies; and Dr. Cen April Yue, Assistant Professor of Public Relations. I am excited to have them as colleagues and look forward to working with and learning from them.

All COM faculty, staff, and students are welcome to attend the CRC’s inaugural Open House scheduled for Thursday, September 26th from 4:00 – 6:00 pm. Co-hosted with CISS, you can start off on the lower level of Alden Hall, 704 Commonwealth Avenue to enjoy refreshments, demonstrations of our biometric technologies, and opportunities to network with your colleagues in the CRC. And you can also visit our friends from the Center for Innovation in Social Science on the 5th floor to learn about their research and affiliation opportunities. Please RSVP here if you plan on attending.

The CRC’s fall programming is set with an outstanding lineup of presentations. Our Colloquium Series includes the following talks from COM researchers:

September 24 (Tuesday) @ 3:30 pm: Dr. Denis Wu
October 23 (Wednesday) @ 3:30 pm: Dr. Betsi Grabe
November 20 (Wednesday) @ 3:30 pm: Dr. Chris Wells

More details on each presentation coming soon!

As part of our Dr. Melvin L. DeFleur Distinguished Lecture Series, on Wednesday, November 13th @ 3:30 pm we will welcome to our campus Dr. Bart Wojdynski, Jim Kennedy New Media Professor and Director of the Digital Media Attention and Cognition (DMAC) Lab at University of Georgia, Athens. More details on Dr. Wojdynski’s lecture coming soon, as well.

In collaboration with COM’s MarComm department, we will be hosting a COMtalk virtual panel titled, The Campaign to Curb Misinformation Research, @ 3 p.m., ET, Wednesday, October 9, 2024. I will moderate a panel of esteemed misinformation researchers including Dr. Joan Donovan, Assistant Professor of Journalism, Boston University; Dr. Claire Wardle, Associate Professor, Cornell University, and Co-founder, Information Future Lab; and Dr. Rebekah Tromble, Director of the Institute for Data, Democracy, and Politics and Associate Professor, George Washington University.

Panel Description: The alarming rise of mis- and disinformation influencing recent elections spurred a flurry of new research to understand the trend. But work among academics, nonprofits and the technology sector made some activists suspicious that a conspiracy was developing to muzzle conservative and right-wing ideas – leading to a campaign to curb research. In these polarized times, is the future of the field threatened?

Our monthly Work-in-Progress (WIP) meetings resumes on September 26th at 12:30 pm in the CRC room B04E. WIP is your opportunity to forge connections within our research community and talk research with other COM faculty members. Attendees are encouraged to bring a brown bag lunch.

A green sign saying 'Works in Progress'

The CRC will also continue to offer research training opportunities for faculty and students on our technologies including Meltwater and iMotions software. Over the summer, our Lab and Research Manager, Amanda King, received their certification in Human Behavior Research with a focus on biosensor modules from iMotions. Amanda is available for offering workshops for your students this fall to expose them to biometric research. If interested in learning more, you can email Amanda at ajk90@bu.edu.

To further promote the thought leadership of our faculty fellows, the CRC is continuing its Media & Technology Public Opinion Poll with national polling firm, Ipsos. Since its inception in January 2022, CRC fellows have polled the public on information integrity topics ranging from media trust, artificial intelligence, climate change, social media censorship, dating apps, media literacy, and more. Check out the press releases here. Fellows can also access the raw data to past polls here (password protected). Curious about fielding a poll related to your own research? Find more details and submit your interest here.

Finally, stay tuned for a fun initiative the CRC is embarking on to rename the rooms in our center. No more B04E, B02A, or the ill-advised NRA. We’ll be soliciting your input for communication research related suggestions for our rooms (think the Herta Herzog Naturalistic Viewing Room). Share your suggestions here.

I wish you all a wonderful fall semester and hope to see you around campus (if not in the CRC) soon!

Letter from the Director: August 2024

By ajk90August 8th, 2024in Homepage, Letters From the Director

The Next Frontier: A Deep Dive into Biometrics with Lab Manager, Amanda King

By: Michelle Amazeen

As part of our mission, the Communication Research Center offers state-of-the art technology to facilitate our fellows’ ability to advance theory and methods in addressing society’s communication-related challenges. One of our unique resources is a suite of biometric technologies that allow for the measurement of psychophysiological responses – be it eye movements, facial expressions, galvanic skin response, heart rates, or brain waves. All of this data is conveniently captured within our iMotions software, which runs all the applicable R formulas behind the scenes, allowing you to instantly visualize your biometric data.

This summer, CRC Lab and Research Manager, Amanda King, attended a seminar provided by iMotions to earn their certification in Human Behavior Research with a focus on biosensor modules.

I’ve asked Amanda to share their thoughts on biometric research and some of what they learned during their certification process.

Michelle: How would you explain biometric research to someone who has never heard of it?”

Amanda: I love this question because whenever I sit down to teach a workshop and ask the students if they have any idea what it is, all I get are blank stares and uncomfortable smiles. I’ve found the easiest way to explain it is “measuring the emotional experience of consuming media content.” It’s a bit reductive, but helps folks understand. I try not to inundate students with overly technical terminology, because, at the end of the day, I’m trying to pique their interest and give them the opportunity to dip their toes into the world of biometric research.

Michelle: What type of training did you receive this summer?

Amanda: I was fortunate enough to be able to attend a weeklong certification program, at the iMotions lab in Boston. This specific course, there are more advanced courses I hope to attend some day, was designed to build upon the attendee's basic understanding of human behavior research and how biometric sensors can be integrated into this kind of research. Practitioners from all research areas attended, from marketing and medical to communication and psychology. The first half of the week was to give a high-level overview of the sensors available to us and the latter half was to incorporate these into a study of our design.

Michelle: What were the highlights of your training?

Amanda: As a bit of a tech nerd, I loved being able to spend time with the multitude of biometric sensors that were at our disposal during the academy. Getting to see the EEG headset – NeuroElectrics Enobio 8 – measure brain waves in real time was inspiring.
Honestly, being able to mingle and get to know incredible folks with equally incredible minds was an honor. I was the only local attendee, so getting to hear everyone’s story and what brought them to the academy was a true highlight.
Being able to run a full study, with such a wide-breadth of tools available, was very satisfying. When you’re using top of the line modules, the quality of data you collect makes every peak and dip in the recording meaningful; there’s very little ‘noise’.

Michelle: What are some of the ways communication researchers could incorporate biometrics into their research?

Amanda: I’m going to get the cliché out of the way and say that the only limits are the depths of your imagination and IRB approval, of course. On a more serious note, biometrics can be applied to nearly every aspect of communication research.

EEG headsets can allow researchers to measure the brain waves associated with approach and avoidance behaviors to better understand consumers’ attitudes towards certain brands, and what response their brand elicits. Without getting into the weeds, this is measured by the difference in alpha power (a specific range of brain wave frequency) between the frontal left and right hemispheres of the brain.

An eye-tracker could be used in emerging media research to measure specific design choices within video game development by measuring the length of time between object appearance and user fixation. For instance, if a ledge is painted yellow, what’s the length of time between when the ledge appears on the screen and when the user's gaze lands on the ledge. This kind of research allows game-developers to make games more accessible for a wider audience, especially those with visual impairments.

A GSR sensor, which measures the changes in sweat gland activity on the skin, can give insight into the state of a subject’s arousal – whether they’re relaxed or alert. GSR sensors can be used in UX & UI design, user experience and user interface respectively, to give clients an idea of what aspects of their site design needs improvement or alteration.

These are just a few examples! However, I’d like to note that biometric devices are best used in conjunction with one another. They are complementary and a single device may not be able to give you a comprehensive picture.

Michelle: Are there any articles you’ve discovered that provide a good example of how biometrics have been used for communication research [or more broadly]?

Amanda: Yes! I have a couple I would love to share with you.
As a self-proclaimed ‘scream queen’, I love all things horror and this study has nested inside my brain for well over a decade. Using a heart-rate monitor, researchers were able to determine the scariest movie of all time. With pulses jumping by 28.21% beats per minute, the ‘Here’s Johnny’ scene of Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining was determined to be the most horrifying scene of all. Science can be fun!

While this is a short read, it makes a very concise and compelling case for good advertising design, which is something I have been unable to stop considering since I finished my bachelor’s in Advertising, all those years ago (thanks, Colby). In a study of 106 people, they were shown two advertisements: one with a baby looking at the participant and one with a baby looking at the text within the ad. Using eye-tracking heat maps, they determined that participants looked at the text more rapidly when the baby was gazing at it. Humans are designed to seek out faces and look to where their gaze is. Quantifying our most basic instincts is something that drew me to research in the first place.

Lastly, a study I learned about during my time at the iMotions Academy, was the use of a specific EEG measurement –neural synchrony – to predict the popularity of a given song. Neural synchrony is, essentially, how well the brain activity of different people aligns when they experience something together. The more synchronized the brain waves are between a group of people, the more likely they are to act similarly; it’s one of the underlying mechanisms for group cooperation and the spread of social phenomena.

30 participants were asked to rate their musical preferences and were then given two samples from a R&B album and a pop album. Even though most of the participants were self-proclaimed pop fans, the R&B album performed better among participants and, coincidentally, performed better in sales, when released on the market. They found that the greater the neural synchrony between subjects, while listening to an audio clip in a “neural focus group” predicted the amount of ‘streams’ on Spotify, and did so better than subjects’ self-reports of music-genre proclivity. Their engagement was also measured using EEG, which closely corresponds with recall, which can lead to an increased frequency of streams.
A lengthy, but worthwhile read.

Michelle: Have any CRC fellows published any research studies that incorporated biometric technologies?

Amanda: As a matter of fact, Dr. Denis Wu recently published a study incorporating several of the CRC’s technological offerings: (FEA) facial expression analysis and eye-tracking. The study is “Enjoyment and Appreciation of Political Advertisements: How voters’ Issue Involvement and Congruence with the Sponsor Influence Their Responses and Decisions”. Using FEA to capture facial expressions and eye-tracking to measure how long each participant spent looking at stimuli, Dr. Wu was able to positively associate voting decisions with elicited reactions.

Michelle: How can you help fellows and COM faculty practitioners who might be interested in learning more about biometrics?

Amanda: I’m glad you asked! I am happy to provide both demonstrations of our devices and more in-depth workshops for each individual device, for both individuals and in classroom settings. I will, with our new updated technology arriving for the Fall ‘24 semester (don’t get me started, I could wax-poetic for hours), be reworking my current workshop structure. Please feel free to reach out to me if you’re interested; I’m always at the front desk in the basement of 704 or can be contacted at ajk90@bu.edu.

We’ll be offering more opportunities to learn about biometrics this fall with a colloquium presentation from CRC fellow Dr. Denis Wu in September. Moreover, our fall 2024 Dr. Melvin L. DeFleur Lecturer will be Dr. Bart Wojdynski from the University of Georgia, Athens whose expertise includes psychophysiological effects of communication technologies.

Letter from the Director: July 2024

By ajk90July 2nd, 2024in Homepage, Letters From the Director

The Role of Information Integrity in BU’s Next Chapter

By: Michelle Amazeen

As part of COM’s strategic plan to focus on communication that helps society engage with modern challenges, many fellows of the Communication Research Center have been sharpening their attention on issues of information integrity. As such, it was unsurprising to see so many of our researchers in the Gold Coast of Australia at the 74^th Annual International Communication Association conference that was themed, “Communication and Global Human Rights.” Indeed, the United Nations has long held that freedom of information is a fundamental human right and “is the touchstone of all the freedoms to which the United Nations is consecrated.”

To demonstrate its commitment to the integrity of information, Secretary-General António Guterres recently announced the UN’s Global Principles for Information Integrity. Coming just months after the World Economic Forum’s 2024 Global Risks report warned the threat of mis- and disinformation will intensify societal divides around the world over the next two years, the UN report provides a much needed official framework to protect and promote the integrity of information in our media ecosystems at a time when accurate information is under siege. Given that democratic societies depend upon fact-based, shared perceptions of reality, these assaults on information are an attack on democracy.

As the Secretary General called out stakeholders for their role in this crisis, I was struck by how many of our CRC fellows are already engaged in researching aspects of these very issues. Whether its studying the damage the products of big tech companies are having on individuals and society or the evolution of their platform guidelines, to how advertisers and the public relations industry are creating coordinated disinformation campaigns to undermine climate action, our fellows are on it. We also have teams of our researchers studying the implications of generative artificial intelligence, another factor mentioned by Guterres as supercharging the threats to information integrity.

With BU’s transition to the leadership of President Melissa Gilliam and Provost Gloria Waters, a refreshening of the thematic areas of the university’s strategic plans is likely in store, in part to better reflect the research excellence of the university. Given how information integrity is affecting so many aspects of society, this is one area where researchers from COM can and should be leading. I look forward to this next chapter in BU’s journey.

Letter from the Director: May 2024

By ajk90June 14th, 2024in Homepage, Letters From the Director

The Spring 2024 Semester in Review

By: Michelle Amazeen

With the end of another semester, I have been reflecting upon the many activities in the CRC and among our fellows in 2024, thus far. This spring, we launched the inaugural call for Faculty Research Seed Grant proposals with the aim of fostering inter-departmental, cross-disciplinary collaborations on communication-related issues to help society engage with modern challenges. The CRC is pleased to announce three teams of awardees:

Dr. Katy Coduto, Assistant Professor, Media Science, and Prof. Margaret Wallace, Associate Professor of the Practice, Media Innovation for their project, “Mapping Relational Trajectories with Generative Artificial Intelligence: Insights for Theory and Practice.”
Dr. Yi Grace Ji, Assistant Professor, Mass Communication, Advertising, and Public Relations; Dr. James J. Cummings, Associate Professor, Emerging Media Studies; Dr. Chris Chao Su, Assistant Professor, Emerging Media Studies, and Prof. Anne Danehy, Associate Professor of the Practice, Mass Communication, Advertising, and Public Relations for their project, “Learning Information with Generative AI: Implications for Elaborative Processing.”
Dr. AnneMarie McClain, Assistant Professor, Media Science and Elly Kramer, former Senior Vice President of Animation at Imagine Entertainment & Television for their project, “Representing Gender Expansively: Media Uses and Hopes Among Gender Expansive Youth and Their Families.”

Look for more details about these projects in the future on our website and as part of the CRC’s Colloquium Lecture Series.

Now in its 15th year of programming, our Colloquium Series consists of monthly research presentations that highlight the original research of our CRC fellows. I would like to thank our 2024 spring Colloquium speakers which included Dr. James E. Katz, Feld Professor of Emerging Media Studies (February), Dr. AnneMarie McClain, Assistant Professor of Media Science (March), and Prof. Anne Danehy, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs (April). You can read about and see recordings of each of these presentations as well as those from all of our past Colloquium speakers on our website.

In addition to our Colloquium Series, every semester our fellows nominate a distinguished scholar from outside the university to share their outstanding scholarship, expertise, and experience with the BU community. Our distinguished lecture series is a tribute to Dr. Melvin L. DeFleur, a past colleague, to honor his contributions to the fields of communication and media research. This spring, we were honored to host Dr. Lee H. Humphreys (Cornell University) as our DeFleur Distinguished Lecturer who spoke about “Sensor Mediated Communication and the Internet of Things.” A recording of her talk is accessible on our website, as well.

In promoting a culture of research and collaboration, our fellows had opportunities throughout the semester to gather together in person. Our Work-In-Progress meetings enabled fellows to discuss their ongoing research, conference submission plans as well as Institutional Review Board and grant-seeking questions. Moreover, our PhD fellow Briana Trifiro continued the Lunch & Learn series enabling doctoral students the opportunity to talk with faculty and Emerging Media Studies PhD alumni about their academic research and careers. While we will continue these activities in the future, please let me know if you have ideas for other ways to foster opportunities for intellectual inquiry.

Since its inception in January 2022, the COM/CRC Media & Technology Public Opinion Poll has enabled faculty fellows to advance their thought leadership on a variety of information integrity topics. This past semester, our polls involved media literacy (January), dating apps (February), and text generated by artificial intelligence (March) leading to media coverage from The Boston Globe and NPR. Faculty members with ideas for a future poll can get involved by completing this Google Form.

Given the University’s commitment to engaging students in research, the CRC continued to facilitate fellows’ efforts to recruit students as research participants via our SONA research participant management system. The SONA system gives both graduate and undergraduate students an opportunity to become involved with various research activities across COM while earning course credit for doing so. This semester, 25 research studies were available to over 600 students from 22 different COM courses. I hope you will consider registering your courses for the fall semester. For more information about how our SONA program works, please visit our website or email comsona@bu.edu.

Last but not least, I am incredibly grateful for the commitment and hard work of our staff this spring. Many thanks to our Lab and Research Manager, Amanda King, who has made our facilities a welcoming place for scholarly activities and has skillfully trained both experienced and emerging researchers on the technologies offered by the CRC. I would also like to thank our wonderful graduate assistants who helped to keep the Center running. Alyssa Hance (EMS) was our SONA administrator assisting with the behind-the-scenes work on our research participant management system and also assisted with research projects in the Center. YiFang “Violet” Li (MCR) was our Communications Assistant writing about and promoting our activities and our fellows. And Abby Bonner (FTV) was our Podcast Assistant developing the protocols and processes for our planned podcasting efforts. Thanks to you all!

To our CRC community of fellows, I wish you a wonderful summer with time to relax and recharge. I look forward to seeing you in the fall.

Letter from the Director: January 2024

By ajk90January 25th, 2024in Homepage, Letters From the Director

Growing Risk of Disinformation

By: Michelle Amazeen

The new year began with the World Economic Forum releasing its 2024 Global Risks Report which describes hazards occurring in the global landscape from year to year. Topping the 2024 report is the threat of mis- and disinformation intensifying societal divides around the world over the next two years.

Indeed, in the year ahead, the American public is facing numerous issues that require informed decisions. We are navigating a presidential election, military action in Ukraine and Gaza, continued resistance against taking meaningful action on climate change, and lingering waves of Covid-19, just to name a few. Each of these on its own is challenging enough. However, dealing with all of them simultaneously and combined with the increased use of generative artificial intelligence, the media ecosystem is poised for a tsunami of disinformation: deliberately false content intended to mislead.

Do we trust US media to get us this information accurately? According to a nationally representative poll COM conducted in 2022, roughly 60% of Americans said they trusted media to provide accurate information on the issues of climate change, elections, and vaccines. Even fewer (55%) trusted media to make a clear distinction between news and advertising. But there were stark differences in responses based upon political identity: Democrats were much more trusting of media on these topics (80%) than were Republicans (just over a third). Other national polls, such as from Gallup, indicate that Americans’ trust in media more generally is at a record low point with similar partisan divides.

The concern with misinformation is not just among elites, but is also held by everyday Americans. A recent national survey by MediaWise revealed that 4 out of 5 participants (81%) believed false or misleading online images were a problem for society. At the same time, roughly 3 in 4 respondents were not confident in their ability to identify misinformation. According to CRC fellow Dr. Joan Donovan, Assistant Professor of Emerging Media Studies and Journalism and author of Meme Wars, “The entire purpose of media manipulation campaigns is to trick you, so it’s not easy to quickly discern fakes from facts in today’s media. Viral memes are often missing the context needed to understand the motives of the author and really viral memes will shed any reference to the original source as it is distributed. This is why we need to be able to access more reputable news sources on social media.”

Thus, now, more than ever, is when media literacy is essential. Media literacy is the ability to critically analyze stories presented in the media and to determine their accuracy or credibility. My research has shown that the more people know about the media, the better able they are to resist online disinformation efforts. According to our latest Media & Technology poll among a nationally representative sample of US adults fielded this month, 72% of respondents agree that media literacy skills are important in helping people identify misinformation, yet only 42% report knowing how to access quality media literacy training online. Yet, there is demand for these skills as nearly 7 in 10 reported interest in learning how to better distinguish between true and false information online, especially when it comes to identifying misinformation generated with AI.

Given the challenging times before us, I am pleased to welcome a new voice among our CRC fellows who study mediated communication dysfunction. Dr. Betsi Grabe joins COM this month as the Dalton Family Professor and will be directing the Emerging Media Studies PhD program. While the first part of Dr. Grabe’s career was spent conducting research to understand the media’s role in facilitating informed citizenship, more recently her focus has shifted to researching disinformed citizenship. “My sense is that the integrity of the global information ecosystem is critical to the longevity of the democratic way of life,” Grabe tells me. “Actionable research that shapes public debate, informs policy, and empowers citizens is urgently necessary and arguably, part of our social responsibility as academics.”

We are fortunate to have so many esteemed researchers who are committed to understanding why and how media affect us and society at this time of extreme information disorder. I look forward to working with Dr. Grabe and the continued efforts among all CRC fellows in conducting research that matters.

Letter from the Director: December 2023

By ajk90December 22nd, 2023in Homepage, Letters From the Director

The Fall 2023 Semester in Review

By: Michelle Amazeen

A photo of the directory in the foreground, with two students studying, in the reception area, in the background. — Students studying in the CRC reception area. Photo courtesy of Derek Palmer.

December wraps up another busy semester for the CRC. Our Colloquium Series, which originated in 2009, consists of monthly research presentations that highlight current and original research of CRC fellows. Our Fall Colloquium Speakers were EMS PhD Candidate Alexis Shore (September), Dr. Deborah Jaramillo (October), and Dr. Joan Donovan (November). If you are interested in presenting your research as part of our Colloquium Series this Spring, please sign up here.

Every semester, the CRC also invites a distinguished scholar from outside the university to share their outstanding scholarship, expertise, and experience with the BU community. Our Fall 2023 DeFleur Distinguished Lecturer was Dr. Kjerstin Thorson (Michigan State University) who spoke about news exposure in a datafied media world.

An image of students facing a TV screen, half eaten pizza slices on paper plates on the table in front of them, with a Zoom video on display. — PhD fellow Briana Trifiro's second Lunch & Learn, with EMS alumnae, pictured here.

In promoting a culture of research and collaboration, our fellows met monthly as part of our Work-In-Progress meetings. Special guests this semester included representatives from BU’s Institutional Review Board and representatives from the offices of BU’s Federal and Foundation Relations. Moreover, our PhD fellow Briana Trifiro launched a Lunch & Learn series enabling doctoral students the opportunity to talk with faculty and Emerging Media Studies PhD alumni about their academic research and careers.

One of the unique technologies available in the CRC is our biometric tools which include devices for measuring heart rate, sweat levels in the skin, as well as facial and eye movements. For the first time ever, the CRC hosted an onsite workshop led by an iMotions Product Specialist. Attendees received hands-on training in our iMotions software, designing biometric studies, interpreting data, and drawing actionable conclusions. If you are interested in learning more about biometrics, a quick primer is available here.

Given the University’s commitment to involving students in research, the CRC continued to facilitate fellows’ efforts to recruit students as research participants via our SONA research participant management system. The SONA system gives both graduate and undergraduate students an opportunity to become involved with various research activities across COM while earning course credit for doing so. This semester, 13 research opportunities were available to students from 24 different COM courses. I hope you will consider including your courses in the Spring semester. To enroll your courses, please fill out this form. For more information about how our SONA program works, please visit our website or email comsona@bu.edu.

The CRC staff behind the reception desk in various stages of working and communication. — A typical day in the CRC. Photo courtesy of Derek Palmer.

I am incredibly grateful for the commitment and hard work of our staff this fall. Amanda King joined us in September as our Lab and Research Manager and has been quickly getting up to speed on CRC technologies and activities. I look forward to working with them in the Spring semester and beyond. I would also like to thank our wonderful graduate assistants who helped to keep the Center running. Zain Bali (MCR) was our SONA administrator doing the behind-the-scenes work on our research participant management system. Snigdha Bhowmik (FTV) was our Communications Assistant writing about and promoting our activities. And Xinyue “Tracy” Cui (FTV) was our Events Assistant capturing our activities for posterity and making them available on our website. Thanks to you all!

To our CRC community of fellows, I wish you all a joyous and restful holiday season and look forward to the many new and exciting activities we are planning for 2024!

Letter from the Director: November 2023

By ajk90November 22nd, 2023in Homepage, Letters From the Director

In Thanksgiving: Rosalynn Carter as Political Communicator (1927-2023)

By: Michelle Amazeen

With multiple wars raging and the world enduring infodemics, pandemics, and climate-related disasters, it may seem difficult to be grateful for much of anything at present. However, at this time of Thanksgiving in the United States, I wanted to pay homage to a former First Lady whose actions touched on all of these calamities. Rosalynn Carter died this past Sunday on November 19, 2023 at the age of 96 at her home in Plains, Georgia. To do so, I turned to COM’s Senior Associate Dean, Dr. Tammy R. Vigil, whose expertise includes women as political communicators and who has authored two books about First Ladies including Moms in Chief: The Rhetoric of Republican Motherhood and the Spouses of Presidential Nominees, 1992-2016 (University Press of Kansas, 2019) and Melania & Michelle: First Ladies in a New Era (Red Lightning Books, 2019). The following is a tribute from Dr. Vigil:

Rosalynn Carter often appeared the picture of demure, middle-class femininity in a well-ironed blouse neatly tucked into a simple A-line skirt. Yet, behind the outward image of reserved simplicity stood a fearless first lady who broke barriers and pushed boundaries. Rosalynn Carter, well-known as a champion of mental health, served as the key White House administrator on behalf of the Mental Health Systems Act and testified in front of Congress as part of her advocacy efforts. She also vigorously supported the Equal Rights Amendment, led workshops on alleviating unemployment, and supported cultural exchange programs. Carter was frequently an official emissary of the president, embarking on diplomatic efforts in Brazil, Costa Rica, Rome, and Thailand, negotiating on behalf of the president and the nation in a manner few first ladies dared to do. Her courageous efforts to use the “velvet pulpit” of the first ladyship in a meaningful fashion resulted in Time magazine dubbing her “the second most powerful person in the United States” in 1979. Her high level of activity led to legislative efforts to curb her influence, yet she persisted. Rosalynn Carter helped formalize the Office of the First Lady, creating resources and space for future presidential spouses to more effectively advocate for causes that impact a wide range of constituents.

During the more than four decades since she left the East Wing, Rosalynn Carter travelled the world as an inspirational and assertive figure whose goals were, as she put it, “waging peace, fighting disease, and building hope.” She continued to crusade for causes she believed in and remained politically active throughout her life. Through the Carter Center, Rosalynn worked toward peace in the Middle East, led public conversations about sexual inequality, promoted childhood immunizations, and drew attention to the importance of caregiving. In 2018, she led a chorus of former first ladies who spoke out against the separation of migrant children from their families at the southern US border, drawing attention to the humanitarian crisis and calling for change. Two years later, she narrated a video segment for the 2020 Democratic National Convention in which she argued for national unity and optimism. Rosalynn Carter was a model of activism, compassion, determination, and empowerment.

I am grateful for the work of Mrs. Carter on behalf of our country and humanity. I am also grateful for the work of my colleagues whose communication research illuminates these important actors.

I wish you and your families a Happy Thanksgiving with time to reflect and reconnect.

Letter From The Director: October 2023

By ajk90October 10th, 2023in Homepage, Letters From the Director

By: Michelle Amazeen

In the mid-1980s, Rolling Stone Magazine underwent an image transformation. Widely perceived of as a magazine carrying content that only appealed to a niche population of counterculture hippies, the award-winning “Perception. Reality.” advertising campaign, created by advertising agency Fallon McElligott, disputed that notion. Through a series of over 60 print executions, the ads conveyed that readers were actually mainstream and affluent.

Similarly, the Communication Research Center (CRC) is sometimes perceived of as having activities that primarily involve programming with speakers from other universities and/or research presentations by BU COM faculty. It’s true that since 2011, the Dr. Melvin L. DeFleur Lecture Series has annually invited two distinguished scholars from outside the university to share their scholarship, expertise, and experience with the BU community. Even before then, since October 2009, the Communication Research Colloquium Series has hosted monthly research presentations every semester that highlight current and original research of CRC fellows. However, to say that CRC activities are primarily limited to speaker series is not reflective of reality.

Since 2011, the CRC has facilitated scores of research studies, many involving surveys. Our fellows review survey research protocols to ensure the rights and welfare of humans participating as subjects in research. Dozens of these studies have sampled from the student population of COM made possible by our SONA participant recruitment and study management software that we acquired in 2016. Other studies are based upon non-student populations, such as this one – covered by CNBC – about U.S. adult perceptions of climate change.

Still other studies involve in-lab controlled experiments approved by the university’s Institutional Review Board. One study, for example, examined the ability of participants to recognize whether media content was a news article versus “native advertising,” a form of sponsored content that imitates journalism. Some participants who arrived at the CRC were provided an iPhone on which to view the content while others were provided with a laptop. As predicted by the Persuasion Knowledge Model, even the participants most motivated to engage with news were less likely to recognize that content was advertising when viewed via the iPhone.

Beyond surveys and experiments, the CRC has hosted focus groups in our state-of-the art focus group facility. The adjacent viewing room with a one-way mirror allows for unobtrusive observation, and the digital recording tower can create audio/video recordings of sessions.

Our on-site data analysis and coding lab with dual-monitor computer stations facilitates the analysis and coding of media content. In one study, for instance, researchers conducted a content analysis of commonly binge-watched online original TV programs for portrayals of violence. Consistent with Cultivation Theory, the programs were often violent, with non-white women more likely to be targets of sexual violence and non-white men more likely to be the perpetrators.

You can learn more about this study from the news coverage it generated in 2019 on Boston 25 News.

Many other studi es conducted by CRC fellows rely upon social media data obtained from the varying social media listening tools we offer or leverage COM’s Media & Technology surveys that poll nationally representative samples of U.S. residents.For example, one such study reported by the Boston Globe examined adults’ perceptions of dating apps and another, reported b y eWeek, examined artificial intelligence.

Indeed, the reality is that, more than just a forum for scholars to present their research, the CRC has been helping its fellows produce research that has been covered in national news media, from the New York Times to the Los Angeles Times to CNN. That’s research that matters.