Hernando Rojas

Biographic Data

ID174847
NAMEHernando Rojas
GIVEN NAMESHernando
FAMILY NAMERojas
SIGNATUREROJAS H
AFFILIATIONSUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison
ORCID0000-0002-0012-4041
VERIFIEDYes
TOTAL WORKS59
TOTAL CITATIONS725
AUTHOR COUNT59
EDITOR COUNT0
FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR1996
LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR2026
H-INDEX15

  • Advancing Public Opinion Research Across Countries and Contexts

    Open AccessHsuan-Ting Chen, Hernando Rojas et al.ARTICLEPublic Opinion Quarterly2026

  • “They Check Facts” vs. “Claptrap!”: How the American Public Conceptualizes Fact-Checking

    Open AccessAlex Zhi-Xiong Koo, Jisoo Kim et al.ARTICLEMass Communication & Society2026

    From a professional perspective, fact-checking is defined as the practice of verifying the accuracy of factual claims. However, the extent to which the American public adopts this definition has remained unclear. This study explores how Americans articulate fact-checking using a 2022 national survey (N = 541). By analyzing responses to an open-ended question about the meaning of fact-checking, we find that a segment of respondents disapproved of …

  • Understanding support for TikTok/Douyin regulation: The role of platform experiences, perceived influence, and algorithmic awareness in China and the United States

    Open AccessMengyu Li, Macau K F Mak et al.ARTICLEInformation Communication & Society2026

    Given growing concerns about TikTok/Douyin’s algorithmic distribution of harmful content, public debates have emerged worldwide about its regulation. Past research on public opinion of platform regulation has focused on presumed platform influence as a main predictor. Drawing on experiential learning theory, we extend this framework by incorporating (1) experiential antecedents – both direct platform experiences and indirect experiences through n…

  • How Does Political Communication Relate to Perceived Extremity of Partisans and Their Divides? From Communication to Polarization Perceptions to Political Engagement

    Open AccessJisoo Kim, Hernando RojasARTICLECommunication Studies2025

    Certain forms of polarization in the United States have been on the rise, yet the public’s perception of polarization outpaces polarization itself, resulting in a potential vicious cycle of polarization. Understanding what communication flows are related to perceptions of polarization and how those perceptions are linked to political participation and opinion expression is critical to stopping these cycles. The present study employs a national sa…

  • Media or political affiliations? Political transition, government trust, and affective polarization in South Korea

    Open AccessHeysung Lee, Hernando RojasARTICLEAsian Journal of Comparative…2025References: 22

    Affective polarization can have profound consequences for the quality of the democratic process as it becomes a force to mobilize people around parties or issues. Political affiliations and trust in government have been considered as driving forces for developing in-group and out-group sentiments. In addition, the current high-choice media environment provided by mass media and social media has also been blamed for exacerbating affective polariza…

  • More than Two-Party Divides? Social Media, Ideological Extremity, and Affective Polarization in the Multi-party System

    Open AccessHeysung Lee, Hernando RojasARTICLESocial Media + Society2025References: 31

    How social media fuels affective polarization, characterized by favorability toward in-party members and apathy toward out-party members, has emerged as a crucial topic in political communication. However, few studies examine the relationship between social media and affective polarization in multi-party contexts outside American politics. Applying Wagner’s methodology for measuring affective polarization in a multi-party system, we calculate aff…

  • Reading Faces: The Power of Facial Expressions as Visual Cues in Reports of Social Movements

    Yibing Sun, Ji-Won Kang et al.ARTICLEMass Communication & Society2025References: 18

  • Perceived Political Party Divide During the Pandemic: A Framework Linking Attitude Strength Toward Covid-19 Vaccines to Affective Polarization

    Open AccessHyungjin Gill, Heysung Lee et al.ARTICLEInternational Journal of Public…2025References: 20

    This study examines how perceived political party divide may foster affective polarization during the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing on nationally representative sample surveys of U.S. and South Korean adults, we investigate the relationship between attitude strength toward COVID-19 vaccines, perceived polarization, and affective polarization. Results suggest that individuals with stronger attitudes toward vaccines are more likely to perceive a great…

  • Regionality of Messaging Applications: Everyday Socialization as a Gateway to Civic and Political Participation in China, Japan, South Korea, and the United States

    Open AccessXiaomei Sun, Xining Liao et al.ARTICLESocial Media + Society2025References: 29

    Although there is a growing number of studies examining the political significance of messaging applications, the regional aspects of messaging applications have been overlooked by many in a global market dominated by American digital platforms. This study proposes an analytical framework of regionality concerning the characteristics of digital platforms, including origin, development, and usage. Messaging applications that are defined as regiona…

  • From Hostile Media Perceptions to Action: The Role of Racial Empathy in the Black Lives Matter Movement

    Open AccessHyungjin Gill, Carlos Dávalos et al.ARTICLECommunication Studies2024

    In the wake of the 2020 Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests that swept across the nation, this study aims to identify potential cognitive-motivational factors that account for the increased likelihood among pro-movement citizens to engage in BLM activism. Using a nationally representative survey of U.S. adults, we examine a theoretical model grounded in the Orientation-Stimuli-Orientation-Response framework in which the racial empathy that may emer…

  • Social Media and Perceived Political Polarization: Role of Perceived Platform Affordances, Participation in Uncivil Political Discussion, and Perceived Others’ Engagement

    Open AccessMacau K F Mak, Mengyu Li et al.ARTICLESocial Media + Society2024Cited by: 1References: 22

    This research applies a perceived affordance approach to examine the distinctive role of social media technologies in shaping (mis)perceptions of political polarization. We argue that users’ perceptions of platform affordances influence both (a) their self-participation in uncivil political discussion on social media and (b) perceptions of others’ engagement, which eventually shape their perceptions of polarization. Our analysis of US survey data…

  • Another Point of View: Scholarly Responses to the State of Third-Person Research

    Michael Schmierbach, Julie L Andsager et al.ARTICLEMass Communication & Society2023Cited by: 1References: 16

    In a series of essays, scholars respond to Perloff and Shen’s article, “The Third-Person Effect 40 Years After Davison Penned It.” They offer further thoughts on how to measure the phenomenon, where future research is headed, and even whether the effect is real

  • Perceiving Immigrants as a Threat: A Motivational Approach to False Consensus

    Open AccessHyungjin Gill, Hernando RojasARTICLECommunication Research2022

    False consensus, or biased projection of one’s opinion onto others, has repeatedly been described by political communication scholars as a derivative of selective exposure to attitude-consistent information. This study proposes a distinctive approach to understanding the phenomenon by suggesting “perceived threat” as a motivational factor that contributes to self-serving estimates of public opinion. Based on a nationally representative sample of …

  • WhatsApp, Polarization, and Non-Conventional Political Participation: Chile and Colombia Before the Social Outbursts of 2019

    Open AccessAndrés Scherman, Nicolle Etchegaray et al.ARTICLEMedia and Communication2022

    Chile and Colombia are two South American countries with political and economic similarities that, during 2019, faced strong social outbursts, which translated into massive street protests and the weakening of their governments. Using data collected in the period immediately prior to the start of this social unrest, this study seeks to establish the role played by strong-tied social media—which are generally homogeneous, formed by close people, a…

  • Social media engagement against fear of restrictions and surveillance: The mediating role of privacy management

    Open AccessMacau K F Mak, Alex Zhi-Xiong Koo et al.ARTICLENew Media & Society2022Cited by: 6References: 9

    The impact of state restriction and surveillance on social media engagement has been widely investigated in communication studies. However, these studies tend not to capture the moment when these restrictions are implemented and citizens experience a high level of uncertainty. Addressing the implementation of a national security law (NSL) in Hong Kong, we used two-wave panel data to understand political engagement on Facebook before and shortly a…

  • Fandom nationalism in China: The Effects of Idol Adoration and Online Fan Community Engagement

    Xining Liao, Alex Zhi-Xiong Koo et al.ARTICLEChinese Journal of Communication2022Cited by: 20References: 8

    While many fandom activism studies see fans as a potential force to challenge the existing political order, participants of fan groups in China have been transformed into nationalists and government supporters. Utilizing online survey data collected in 2020, we established an initial statistical model to test the mobilizing mechanisms underlying Chinese fandom nationalism. Our findings suggest that, among individuals who participate in online fan…

  • Social Media Expression, Political Extremity, and Reduced Network Interaction: An Imagined Audience Approach

    Open AccessMin-Hsin Su, J Suk et al.ARTICLESocial Media + Society2022Cited by: 2References: 51

    The recent rise of political extremity and radicalization has presented unique challenges to contemporary politics, governance, and social cohesion in many societies in the world. In this study, we propose an imagined audience approach to understand how social media's expanded expression capabilities are related to users' political extremity and reduced network interaction. We demonstrate the usefulness of our imagined audience framework using a …

  • Group Consciousness and Corrective Action: The Mediating Role of Perceived Media Bias and of Proattitudinal Selective Exposure

    Open AccessAlcides Velasquez, Matthew Barnidge et al.ARTICLEJournalism & Mass Communication…2021

    This study examines the role that group consciousness plays in driving corrective action. Drawing from an online survey of Latinos in the United States ( N = 588), it tests the relationships among group consciousness, perceived media bias, proattitudinal selective exposure, and political participation. Results show support for a serial mediation model where the relationship between group consciousness and political participation runs through perc…

  • Communication Mediation Model Predicting Political Participation among Instant Messaging App Users: An Osror Approach

    Open AccessHyungjin Gill, Hernando RojasARTICLECommunication Studies2021

    This study proposes and tests a communication mediation model that examines the potential influence of instant messenger (IM) apps on cognitive biases and political participation among users. Data from a national online panel of U.S. adults provide insights into how egocentric assumptions in public opinion perceptions that stem from mobile echo chambers can contribute to a user’s participatory behaviors, which further highlights the role of IM in…

  • What Motivates People to Correct Misinformation? Examining the Effects of Third-person Perceptions and Perceived Norms

    Alex Zhi-Xiong Koo, Min-Hsin Su et al.ARTICLEJournal of Broadcasting &…2021

    Studies have suggested that rumors may ultimately be “self-corrected” by online crowds. Following the previous literature, we explored how two perceptual factors, including the third-person perception (TPP) and perceived norms, predict people’s intentions to correct misinformation online. Our findings show that people’s corrective intentions are positively associated with both factors. While previous scholarship typically understands corrective a…

  • The more you know, the less you like: A comparative study of how news and political conversation shape political knowledge and affective polarization

    Open AccessJ Suk, David Coppini et al.ARTICLECommunication and the Public2021Cited by: 7References: 38

    The contemporary communication ecology contributes to affective polarization by presenting us with extreme exemplars of disliked groups. News exposure that is associated with political discussion networks is related to greater political knowledge, yet unlike previous eras where political knowledge and tolerance went hand in hand, this is no longer the case. We employ a comparative design to examine this idea among two democracies with differing l…

  • The Contexts of Political Participation: The Communication Mediation Model Under Varying Structural Conditions of the Public Sphere

    Open AccessPorismita Borah, Matthew Barnidge et al.ARTICLEThe International Journal of…2021Cited by: 2References: 17

    The communication mediation model asserts that the effects of news use on political participation are mostly indirect, mediated through discussion. Recent research has shown that this mediation process is stronger in countries where freedom of the press and expression are also greater. Relying on data collected during election cycles in seventeen countries between 2013 and 2018, we examine how additional country-level factors, including political…

  • Social Media, Messaging Apps, and Affective Polarization in the United States and Japan

    Sangwon Lee, Hernando Rojas et al.ARTICLEMass Communication & Society2021Cited by: 16References: 26

    This study explores how emerging media platforms (i.e., social media and messaging apps) contribute to affective political polarization. We rely on cross-national data (USA and Japan), which allows us to explore the broader implications of how emerging media platforms contribute to political polarization in different cultural contexts. The results are very consistent; social media news use is positively related to affective polarization while mes…

  • Opinion Leaders, Perceived Media Hostility and Political Participation

    Open AccessStephanie Jean Tsang, Hernando RojasARTICLECommunication Studies2020

    Opinion leaders play a significant role in public opinion formation by highlighting, defining and framing political issues for their circle of friends. Although we know opinion leaders are more likely to participate in politics, we are less sure about how they process mediated information and what motivate them to participate more actively than individuals who are less politically active. Data from a national representative survey in Colombia sho…

  • Chatting in a mobile chamber: Effects of instant messenger use on tolerance toward political misinformation among South Koreans

    Hyungjin Gill, Hernando RojasARTICLEAsian Journal of Communication2020

    Amid growing scholarly interest in identifying potential explanations for the persistence of fake news from an international context, this study explores the relationship between instant messaging (IM) app use and attitudes regarding political falsehoods. Using a 2018 survey from a nationally representative sample of South Korean adults, path analysis reveals that network homogeneity indirectly predicts citizens’ tolerant attitudes toward misinfo…