Jianing Li

Assistant Professor of Communication, School of Communication and Information, Rutgers University
I am an Assistant Professor at Rutgers University’s School of Communication and Information, Department of Communication.

My work examines the intersection of mis/disinformation, structural inequalities, and contentious politics. I specialize in computational methods, quantitative methods, and mixed-methods.

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My research asks: How do people make informed decisions in today’s digital media environment with growing concerns over mis/disinformation, structural inequalities, and contentious politics? My work focuses on: (1) identifying dissemination of and discourses around mis/disinformation on digital platforms; (2) examining efforts aimed at mitigating mis/disinformation, e.g., fact-checking, content moderation, social media skepticism, media literacy, and cross-racial solidarity building in the face of racialized disinformation; and (3) studying how the broader media ecology interacts with identity and social inequality in shaping misperceptions, policy preferences, and support for racial justice movements.

Methodologically, I use computational methods (natural language processing, machine learning, network mapping), experiments (quasi-experiment, web-based dynamic experiment), large-scale panel surveys, mixed-methods approaches, and work on the integration of textual, behavioral, and/or social geographical data.

My work has been published in peer-reviewed journals including Journal of Communication, Human Communication Research, New Media & Society, Political Communication, Information, Communication & Society, Social Science & Medicine, Mass Communication and Society, and Social Media + Society. My work also appeared in public-facing outlets including The Washington Post, Brookings TechStream, and MediaWell.

My research has been funded by the Social Science Research Council, the International Fact-Checking Network, and the Knight Foundation. I have received the Thomas E. Patterson Best Dissertation Award from the American Political Science Association, Paper of the Year award from Mass Communication and Society, and several Top Paper awards from the International Communication Association and the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.

I received B.A. in Journalism and Sociology from Peking University, M.A. in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Ph.D. in Mass Communication from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.