Professor Yang’s research uses quantitative and computational methods with large-scale datasets to answer questions about the disruptive role of media in American politics, including how manipulation works on social media, how partisan news organizations function as political organizations, and how foreign propaganda influences the American media system. His work has appeared in Journal of Communication, Political Communication, and International Journal of Press/Politics. Professor Yang currently serves as a member of the editorial board of Political Communication and is guest editing the journal's forthcoming special issue "Multi-platform Research." In the summer of 2023, he was a fellow of the Weizenbaum Institute. A frequent media commentator, Professor Yang has been interviewed by the Wall Street Journal, NBC News, AFP, CTV News, NPR, The Hill, The New Yorker, and Politiken. In 2022, he submitted his research on US right-wing media to the House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack as Statements for Record. 

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Selected publications:

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• Yang, Y. (2024). Rethinking right-wing media in the awake of an attempted coup. In Khadijah White, Daniel Kreiss, Shannon McGregor & Rebekah Tromble (ed.) Media and January 6th (pp. 163-172). Oxford University Press. Link

• Yang, Y., McCabe, S. & Hindman, M. (2024), Does Russian propaganda lead or follow? Topic coverage, user engagement, and RT and Sputnik’s agenda influence on US media, International Journal of Press/Politics. Link.

• Yang, Y., Davis, T. & Hindman, M. (2023). Visual misinformation on Facebook. Journal of Communication. Link.

• Yang, Y. & Bennett, L. (2021). Interactive Propaganda: How Fox News and Donald Trump co-produced false narratives about the Covid-19 crisis. In Peter Van Aelst & Jay Blumler (ed.) Political Communication in the Time of Coronavirus (pp. 83-100). Routledge. Link.

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Op-ed:

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• Yunkang Yang, (2022). Alex Jones' lawsuit losses are not enough, NBC News. Link.

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• Yunkang Yang, Matthew Hindman & Trevor Davis, (2023).Visual misinformation is widespread on Facebook -- and often undercounted by researchers. The Conversation. Link.

 

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Other Media Appearances:

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• Dan Bongino and the big business of returning Trump to Power (The New Yorker), Dec. 27, 2021

• How Ivermectin became the new focus on the anti-vaccine movement (NPR), Sep. 19, 2021

• Ivermectin disinformation leads to new kinds of chaos (The Hill), Sep. 29, 2021

• After fueling the Capitol riot, disinformation still rampant in US politics (AFP), Jan. 6, 2022

• Ontario government staffer out of a job after $100 donation to Ottawa blockade, others under scrutiny (CTV News), Feb. 16, 2022

• How Alex Jones mainstreamed conspiracy theories (NPR), August 6, 2022

• Hammeren er faldet for en af USA's største konspirationsteoretikere. Nu skal hans ligesindede til at vægte deres ord (Politiken), August 14, 2022

• On Facebook, Visual Misinfo Widespread, Highly Asymmetric Across Party Lines (Tech Policy), March 3, 2023

• Un quart des images politiques postées sur Facebook sont trompeuses (Science Avenir), March 14, 2023

• Right-wing media reckoning: Some outlets pay a price after spreading 2020 election misinformation (NBC News), June 8, 2024

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