Topic: The Ironies of Engaging with News: The Issues of Media Diversity and “Fake News”
Speaker: Dam Hee Kim, Associate Professor, School of Media & Communication, Korea University, South Korea
Date & Time: Friday, December 6, 12:10-13:20
Venue: Room HK140, College of Hakka Studies, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University
Speaker Introduction
With an interdisciplinary background in communication and business, Dam Hee Kim’s research focuses on the social, political, and economic impacts of individuals engaging with news and entertainment content in an evolving media environment. She is particularly interested in social media, with a strong research focus on news sharing and political participation. In the field of media diversity, she conducts empirical research to examine the normative claim that individuals who value and consume news from diverse perspectives will become highly aware and actively engaged democratic citizens.
Overall, her research has been recognized with 11 research awards, including two Best Paper Awards from the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) in 2021. Her work has been published in leading academic journals, including: Communication Research, Digital Journalism, Human Communication Research, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, Journal of Media, Economics, New Media & Society, Lecture Overview
In today’s digital society, audiences—who are now more autonomous and interactive—have greater control over the types of media and information they consume. At the same time, they actively generate content and participate in civic life. While these changes may encourage greater civic engagement, they also come with serious challenges, such as the spread of “fake news” and the echo chamber effect, where individuals fail to access accurate information and diverse perspectives. Ultimately, misinformation and a politically polarized public could threaten the health of democratic societies.
Media Diversity
First, Dam Hee Kim will examine the issue of media diversity. From a normative perspective, individuals should be exposed to diverse viewpoints in order to become well-informed citizens capable of critical thinking. However, empirical evidence does not always support this normative ideal. To explain this inconsistency, she applies motivated reasoning theory and introduces three motivations for processing opposing viewpoints:
- Defensive Dismissal – outright rejecting disagreeable viewpoints
- Defensive Deliberation – selectively engaging with opposing views to reinforce existing beliefs
- Balanced Deliberation – genuinely considering multiple perspectives
Fake News
Next, Dam Hee Kim will discuss the issue of “fake news.” Previous studies suggest that individuals with low political literacy are more susceptible to misinformation. However, little is known about how individuals with a high need for cognition—those who enjoy deep thinking—process misinformation.
Her collaborative research reveals that:
(a) Perceived exposure to misinformation may lead to increased political cynicism
(b) The formation of political cynicism is particularly significant among high-need-for-cognition individuals
These findings suggest that individuals who are expected to be highly politically literate may not only become cynical toward politicians and the media but may also develop a cynical attitude toward voters themselves.