Dr. Zhang (PhD, University of Wisconsin—Madison) studies social media and AI, focusing on how they shape contemporary information ecology and their broader implications for politics and society. Using computational and experimental methods, she examines political discourse on social media, collective sense-making around social media and AI, and public trust in these technologies. Her work has been supported by the National Science Foundation, and she has been consulted as an expert by major media outlets including The New York Times, NPR, USA TODAY, and BBC.

Educational Background

PhD, University of Wisconsin—Madison
MA, University of Wisconsin—Madison
MA, Renmin University of China
BA, Beijing Normal University

Recent Courses

Undergraduate courses:

COM 205: Research Methods
COM 240: Introduction to Mass Communication
COM 337: Communication Theory
COM 485: Social Media & Society

Graduate courses:

COM 504: Research Methods
COM 686: Social Media & Society

Current Research

The evolution of political discourse on social media around contested issues such as DEI and gun control
Public perceptions and discussions of information from AI, social media, and AI-generated content on social media
Trust in AI systems

Selected Publications

Zhang, Y., Lukito, J., Suk, J., & McGrady, R. (2024). Trump, Twitter, and Truth Social: how Trump used both mainstream and alt-tech social media to drive news media attention. Journal of Information Technology & Politics. https://doi.org/10.1080/19331681.2024.2328156

Zhang, Y., Chen, F., Suk, J., & Yue. Z. (2023). WordPPR: A Researcher-Driven Computational Keyword Selection Method for Text Data Retrieval from Digital Media. Communication Methods and Measures. https://doi.org/10.1080/19312458.2023.2278177

Zhang, Y., Chen, F., & Rohe, K. (2022). Social Media Public Opinion as Flocks in a Murmuration: Conceptualizing and Measuring Opinion Expression on Social Media. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication. https://doi.org/10.1093/jcmc/zmab021

Zhang, Y., Lukito J., Su, M.H., Suk, J., Xia, Y., Kim, S.J., Doroshenko, L., & Wells, C. (2021). Assembling the Networks and Audiences of Disinformation: How Successful Russian IRA Twitter Accounts Built Their Followings, 2015–2017. Journal of Communication, 71(2), 305-331. https://doi.org/10.1093/joc/jqaa042

Zhang, Y., Wells, C., Wang, S., & Rohe, K. (2018). Attention and amplification in the hybrid media system: The composition and activity of Donald Trump’s Twitter following during the 2016 presidential election. New Media & Society, 20(9), 3161-3182. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1461444817744390.