About

Soo Young Bae is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her research focuses on the far-reaching social and political impact of new communication technologies, with a particular emphasis on the dynamics of user interaction and information flow within social media platforms. Her program of research explores how the flow of news and information becomes increasingly ingrained in existing social relationships, and how this process shapes individuals' attitudes, behaviors, and their relations to one another. She is interested in understanding the ways in which social media influences public opinion and social interactions, contributing to the broader understanding of communication in the digital age.

Research topics

• Political Science
• Computer Science
• Law
• Artificial Intelligence
• Sociology
• Human–computer interaction
• Linguistics
• Aesthetics
• Public relations
• Media studies
• Internet privacy

Selected publications

• Dual Dimensions of Media Diversity: Cross-Platform News Use and Partisan Exposure

  Lecture notes in computer science · 2026-01-01

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Unequal penalties: user status dynamics in the spread of social media misinformation

  Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication · 2026-03-14

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Abstract How do online communities respond when users share misinformation, and do those consequences differ depending on who is speaking? Using a large panel dataset from Reddit, this study examines whether patterns of engagement vary by user status when misinformation is disseminated. We analyze 2 dimensions of engagement: net upvote scores and discursive divergence. Results reveal a notable asymmetry. Among low-status users, misinformation posts are associated with fewer upvotes and substantially higher discursive divergence. In contrast, among high-status users, misinformation posts are associated with relatively higher upvotes and lower discursive divergence. These findings suggest a status-based dynamic within social media platforms, indicating that user status hierarchies may shape how misinformation is received in digital environments.

  PublisherDOI

• Algorithm-driven news use and citizens’ political information engagement

  Quality & Quantity · 2025-09-04

  article1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Algorithm-Driven News Use and Citizens’ Political Information Engagement

  2023

  1st authorCorresponding
  • Political Science
  • Computer Science
  • Political Science
  PublisherDOI

• The Medium and the Backlash: The Disparagement of the #MeToo Movement in Online Public Discourse in South Korea

  International journal of communication · 2021 · 4 citations

  1st authorCorresponding
  • Sociology
  • Political Science
  • Sociology

  This study examines the #MeToo movement in South Korea to understand the role of online platforms in the development of a backlash discourse. We apply computational methods to analyze how the #MeToo movement was discussed by citizens on Twitter and in online news comments, in contrast to the traditional news media. Our findings show that the public discourse in user-driven online platforms enabled the proliferation of a disparaging narrative that challenged the movement, while the patterns of the backlash differed across platforms. Using word-embedding techniques and network analyses, we illustrate the shift in frames around #MeToo movement and highlight how platform affordances meaningfully shaped the way the backlash unfolded.

  Publisher

• Accessibility

  The International Encyclopedia of Media Psychology · 2020-09-08

  other1st authorCorresponding

  This entry introduces the concept of accessibility, its theoretical perspectives, and research applications. Accessibility provides an important foundation for understanding the link between attitudes and behaviors, as well as the effects of media and communication. Empirical research shows that accessibility of attitudes can shape the effects of mediated messages, underscoring its relevance to the study of established communication theories such as framing and priming.

  PublisherDOI

• Social media prosumption and online political participation: An examination of online communication processes

  New Media & Society · 2019-11-18 · 51 citations

  articleSenior author

  This study examines the extent to which social media prosumption, an integrated act of consumption and production, is associated with online political participation. Data from an online panel survey of American adults reveal that social media prosumption has a positive relationship with online political participation indirectly through online political information seeking. Social media prosumption is also positively related to online political participation through online political information and online discussion heterogeneity in serial. Implications are discussed for the role of prosumptive use of social media in online political participation.

  PublisherDOI

• The social mediation of political rumors: Examining the dynamics in social media and belief in political rumors

  Journalism · 2017-09-06 · 20 citations

  article1st authorCorresponding

  Using survey data of social media users in South Korea, this study investigates the dynamics of political rumors in online social networks. Findings of this study reveal the significant connection between the users’ reliance on social media as a source for news and their beliefs in political rumors. Taking a step further, this study underscores the need to understand how users process misinformation they receive through online social networks. Drawing attention to the role of network characteristics in the construction of beliefs around political rumors, this study provides a more nuanced understanding of the conditions under which rumors and misinformation can be regarded as more believable.

  PublisherDOI

• A New Sphere for Political Discourse-Understanding Twitter as a Sphere for Political Discussion

  International Journal of Journalism & Mass Communication · 2016-12-07 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  While previous research efforts have revealed the significant civic and political potential of interpersonal interactions in social media, the dynamics of political discourse in online social networks remains to be explicated. With an interest on understanding the potential to function as an egalitarian public sphere for political discourse, this study investigates the flow of political information and the concentration of discussion in the social media context. More specifically, this study examines Twitter data and reveals that patterns of information flow can be linked to the different levels of influence exerted by its users on Twitter. In addition, the results of this study suggest that political conversations in Twitter tend to be concentrated, rather than creating an equal playing field. Future implications of social media as a democratic public sphere for are discussed.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• The Dynamics of Issue Frame Competition in Traditional and Social Media

  The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science · 2015-04-09 · 81 citations

  article

  This study examines the dynamics of the framing of mass shooting incidences in the U.S. occurring in the traditional commercial online news media and Twitter. We demonstrate that there is a dynamic, reciprocal relationship between the attention paid to different aspects of mass shootings in online news and in Twitter: tweets tend to be responsive to traditional media reporting, but traditional media framing of these incidents also seems to resonate from public framing in the Twitterverse. We also explore how different frames become prominent as they compete among media as time passes after shooting events. Finally, we find that key differences emerge between norms of journalistic routine and how users rely on Twitter to express their reactions to these tragic shooting incidents.

  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Nojin Kwak

  University at Buffalo, State University of New York

  4 shared

• Scott W. Campbell

  The Ohio State University

  4 shared

• Meeyoung Cha

  3 shared

• S. Mo Jang

  2 shared

• Hyun‐Kuk Kim

  Inje University Haeundae Paik Hospital

  2 shared

• Sung Soo Kim

  Chosun University

  2 shared

• Youngkeun Ahn

  Chonnam National University Hospital

  2 shared

• Kyung Hoon Cho

  Chonnam National University Hospital

  2 shared