Reducing Islamophobic Misperception and Attitudes Through Trust-Enhanced Fact Checks
Summary
This project investigates strategies to correct widespread misconceptions about the Muslim community and reduce Islamophobic attitudes. This research is motivated by the resurgence of negative sentiments and discriminatory actions against Muslims in the U.S., exacerbated by recent international conflicts. The project employs a survey experiment targeting individuals identified via browsing behaviors as frequent visitors to Islamophobic websites. The intervention aims to modify these visitors’ beliefs and attitudes by presenting them with fact-checks designed to confront and correct their misconceptions. By integrating approaches from previous studies that have successfully mitigated prejudice against other social groups, this project seeks to foster a more respectful and harmonious coexistence, utilizing educational content and credibility-building measures to challenge and reshape harmful narratives.
Team
Je Hoon Chae (PI), Department of Communication
Je Hoon Chae is a graduate student at UCLA, where he is concurrently pursuing a Ph.D. in Communication and an M.S. in Statistics. Substantively, his research focuses on the dissemination of political (mis)information via media to citizens, and its implications for their competences as participants in a democratic society. This area of interest intersects with various fields such as political communication, political psychology, public opinion, and the study of misinformation. Methodologically, he is interested in causal inference using high-dimensional, unstructured data such as text, images, and video. His recent work has been featured in the peer-reviewed journal Political Psychology, and he is a recipient of the Graduate Dean’s Scholar Award at UCLA for the period 2023–2025. Further information about his work is available on his website at jehoonchae.github.io.
Tim Groeling, Professor, Department of Communication
I am a professor in the Department of Communication Studies at UCLA. My research and teaching focus on the areas of Political Communication and New Media.