Research

About My Research

My research lies at the intersection of media processes and effects, politics, and public health. I use mixed methods—including surveys, experiments, and natural language processing—to explore three core areas:

Informed Citizenship: I investigate how news, political entertainment, communication technologies, and the individuals who create and use them shape public understanding, beliefs, and engagement with social issues.

Koo, G. H., Johnson, T. J. Santillana, M., & Jeon, G. (2025). Toxicity of political participation and news cynicism: How social media news use predicts disinformation beliefs and support for political violence. Journal of Information Technology & Politics. 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1080/19331681.2025.2504518 * 50 free online copies: link
Koo, G. H., Kim, S., Lin, Z., Johnson, T., Jung, S., & Hurdogan, S. (2025). Exploring HIV conspiracy beliefs among Black LGBQ+ individuals: The roles of public health sources, social media, algorithmic assistants, and religious leaders. Health Communication. 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2025.2479636 * 50 free online copies: link
Koo, G. H., & Chen, B. (2025). Far-right conspiracies and online engagement: how #stopthesteal leveraged moral appeals, group identity, and #Blacklivesmatter to capture audience attention on Parler. Journal of Information Technology & Politics. 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1080/19331681.2025.2468948
Koo, G. H., Johnson, T. J., Lee, T. & Jia, C. (2023). Politically contested beliefs: Support for Trump better predicts having inaccurate beliefs about COVID-19 than conservative/Republican political identity. Mass Communication and Society. 26(2). https://doi.org/10.1080/15205436.2022.2144380
Lee, T., & Koo, G. H. (2022). What drives belief in COVID-19 conspiracy theories? Examining the role of uncertainty, negative emotions, and perceived relevance and threat. Health Communication. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2022.2134703
Peifer, J. T., Lee, T. & Koo, G. H. (2022). Selectively sharing satirical news: Strengthening an empirical understanding of how agreement, mirth, and perceived informativeness contribute to the diffusion of mediated comedy. Computers in Human Behavior. 128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2021.107108

Active Citizenship: I examine the role of media in civic engagement and public discourse, conducting cross-national and cross-platform studies to understand these dynamics. My work considers individual psychological and sociological factors, as well as the influence of platform governance and content moderation policies on online participation and dialogue.

Koo, G. H., Lukito, J., Masullo, G. M., Overgaard, C. S. B., & Orr, B. (2025). The Consequences of “The Bird is Free”: A Computational Analysis of Aversive LGBTQIA+ Tweets and Engagement Trends Before and After Elon Musk Dismantled the Platform’s Moderation System. New Media & Society. 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448251356240
Koo, G. H., Masullo, G. M., Orr, B., & Huang, E. (2024). “What flipping right does a teacher have to say being [LGBTQ+] is okay?”: Understanding Twitter discourse around U.S. anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation. Howard Journal of Communications. https://doi.org/10.1080/10646175.2024.2421859
Koo, G. H., & Chen, B. (2024). It's not just “8 dead”: Examining News and Twitter's social construction of the Atlanta spa shootings through the lens of networked gatekeeping and affective publics. Social Media + Society. 10(3). https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051241269278
Chen, B., Lukito, J., & Koo, G. H. (2023). Comparing the #StopTheSteal movement across multiple platforms: Differentiating discourse on Facebook, Twitter, and Parler. Social Media + Society. 9(3). https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051231196879
Chen, B., & Koo, G. H. (2022). Journalistic roles and news framing: a comparative framing analysis of COVID-19 pandemic across China, South Korea, and the United States. International Journal of Communication. 16. 4254-4274. https://ojs3.ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/19479/3879

Improving Media and Journalism Practices: I design interventions to support sustainable and culturally responsible media environments. Through research, I explore strategies to strengthen journalistic practices, correct public misperceptions, and promote news literacy.

Koo. G. H. & Coleman, R. B. (2025). Solutions-oriented Framing and Responsibility Attribution in Urban Youth Crime: Effects on Policy Support and the Mediating Role of Emotions and Social Inequality Perception. Journalism Studies. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2025.2546842 * 50 free copies: link
Koo, G. H., Wilner, T., & McCann, C. (2025). Defining and Validating News Skepticism: Distinctions from News Trust and Cynicism, and Links to News Literacy and Misinformation Belief. Mass Communication and Society, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/15205436.2025.2534983 * 50 free copies: link
Koo, G. H. (2021). Are you frightened? Children’s cognitive and affective reactions to news coverage of school shootings. Mass Communication and Society. 24(6). https://doi.org/10.1080/15205436.2021.1996609

Book review

Koo, G. H. (2021). Numbers that Matter in Journalism: How to Use Numbers Effectively and Ethically. International Journal of Communication. 15.

Conference presentations (Selected)

2025

Koo. G. H., & Clemente, D. (2025). Representation and Identity in Online Discourse During the 2024 U.S. Election: Themes and Discourse Quality [Accepted at the 2025 Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Conference, San Francisco, CA, 2025]
Koo. G. H., & Farquharson, K. (2025). Representing Public Opinion: Political Bias and Reliability of News Media in Predicting Ideological Extremity and Incivility in News Exemplifications. [Accepted at the 2025 American Political Science Association Annual Conference, Vancouver, BC, 2025]
Koo, G. H. (2025). Journalistic (Mis)Representation of Public Opinion and Perceived Political Polarization: The Effects of Uncivil and Ideologically Extreme News Exemplifications. Paper presented at the 75th International Communication Association, Denver, CO, 2025
Koo, G. H., Masullo, G. M., Lukito, J., Overgaard, C. S. B., & Orr, B. (2025). Did Twitter Discourse Get More Toxic After Elon Musk Took Over? A Computational Analysis of LGBTQIA+ Tweets. Paper presented at the 75th International Communication Association, Denver, CO, 2025
Chen, B., & Koo, G. H. (2025). Different Country, Different Truth? A Cross-Country Comparison of Fact-Checking Journalism During Public Health Crises. Paper presented at the 75th International Communication Association, Denver, CO, 2025

2024

Koo, G. H., Kim, S., Lin, Z., Johnson, T., Jung, S., & Hurdogan, S. (2024). Intersecting Identities and HIV Conspiracy Theories: Black and LGBTQIA+ Individuals’ Trust in Health Institutions and Information Sources. Paper presented at the 106th Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Philadelphia, PA, 2024
Koo, G. H., & Chen, B. (2024). Dark Side of Online Engagement: Far-Right Groups Gaining Visibility, Resonance, And Legitimacy in Conspiracy Movements. Paper presented at the 106th Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Philadelphia, PA, 2024
Gene Burd Grant for Research in Urban Journalism Studies:

Promoting Inclusive Narratives: Enhancing Community-Driven Journalism in Reporting Urban Youth Crime. Paper presented at the 106th Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Philadelphia, PA, 2024

2023

Koo, G. H., Johnson, T. J. Santillana, M., & Jeon, G. (2023). Toxicity of Political Participation and News Cynicism: How Social Media News Use Predicts Disinformation Beliefs and Support for Political Violence. Paper presented at the 105th Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Washington DC, 2023 *Second Place Top Faculty Paper Award, Mass Communication and Society Division
Koo, G. H., Masullo, G. M., Orr, B., & Huang, E. Q. (2023). Understanding the Twitter Discourse Around Anti-LGBTQIA+ Legislation Through Topic Modeling, Sentiment Analysis, and Toxicity Detection. Paper presented at the 105th Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Washington DC, 2023 *Top Faculty Paper Award, LGBTQ Interest Group
Koo, G. H., Chen, B., & Jeon, G. (2023). It's Not Just “8 Dead”: News and Twitter's social construction of the Atlanta spa shootings. Paper presented at the 73rd International Communication Association, Toronto, 2023
Johnson, T. J., Koo, G. H., Kim, S., & Lacasa-Mas, I. (2023). Fanning or Extinguishing Protest Flames? How Media Skepticism, Media Cynicism and the Gamson Hypothesis for News Influences Support for Moderate and Extreme Protests. Paper presented at the 73rd International Communication Association, Toronto, 2023

2022

Tamar, W., Koo, G. H., & McCann, C. (2022). Defining, validating and testing news skepticism: A news literacy approach. Paper presented at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, 2022 * Top Student Paper Award, Mass Communication and Society Division

Koo, G. H. (2022). Agenda Setting in COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage: Role of Media Trust, Skepticism, and Cynicism. Paper presented at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, 2022.

Lukito, J., Huang, Q. E., Chen. B., & Koo. G. H. (2022). Mobilizing the “Stop the Steal” Movement: A Comparison of Four Social Media Platforms. Paper presented at the 72nd International Communication Association, 2022.

Yoo, J., Koo. G. H., & Johnson, T. J. (2022). Discuss, verify, and trust: Examining an associative relationship among social media discussions, intent to verify, and trust in news media on beliefs in COVID-19 conspiracy theories. Paper presented at the 72nd International Communication Association, 2022.

2021

Koo, G. H. (2021). Learning from online news: How selective and incidental exposure work differently. Paper presented at the American Political Science Association Annual Meeting, 2021

Koo, G. H., Johnson, T., Lee, T. & Jia, C. (2021). Politically contested beliefs: Why do conservatives tend to have more inaccurate beliefs about COVID-19?. Paper presented at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, 2021

Chen, B., & Koo, G. H. (2021). Framing COVID-19 pandemic: A Comparative study on news frames in China, Korea, and the U.S. Paper presented at the 71st International Communication Association, 2021

2020

Koo, G. H. (2020). Are You Frightened? Children’s cognitive and affective reactions to news coverage of school shootings. Paper presented at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, 2020

Koo, G. H. (2020). The Silence Breakers: Understanding the development of #MeToo based on Spiral of silence theory. Paper presented at the 70th International Communication Association, 2020

Lee, T., Johnson, T. & Koo, G. H. (2020). Bridging between political engagement and fake news sharing: The Role of Third-person Perception and Partisanship. Paper presented at the 70th International Communication Association, 2020

2019

Peifer, J. T., Lee, T. & Koo, G. H. (2019). Selectively sharing the jokes: How agreement, mirth, and information utility propel the social transmission of satirical news. Presented at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Toronto ON, 2019

Kilgo, D.K., Wilkerson, H. & Koo, G. H. (2019). Preferring and maintaining homophilous networks: Unfriending’s contribution to polarized politics. Presented at the 69th International Communication Association, Washington DC, 2019