Annual Report
The Center for Media Engagement leads efforts to understand and improve the information ecosystem for the benefit of democracy.
Through innovative partnerships, we develop research-driven strategies that help newsrooms, platforms, and communities navigate a changing information environment.
Our focus for the year ahead includes advancing research on media trust, examining the role of AI in journalism, and building connections among communities and with democratic institutions.
Through this work, we will help build a more informed, engaged, and connected public.
DEAR FRIENDS AND SUPPORTERS,
How is it possible that it is already December of 2025? The past year has been a whirlwind, bringing joy, uncertainty, and challenge, and deepening our commitment to improving the information ecosystem for the benefit of democracy. In uncertain times when this ecosystem is rapidly changing and social bonds are fraying, we could not be more certain that the work that we do has an important role to play.
The Center for Media Engagement has been focused on keeping pace with rapid technological shifts, investigating how AI is altering the communication landscape and examining how newsrooms can harness its power to better engage the public. We have been analyzing long-standing, thorny problems, such as people’s perceptions that the media are biased and their inability to discern truth from falsehood. And finally, we are advancing our concept of “connective democracy” by figuring out how people can present their views and how the news media can report on critical stories in ways that yield genuine curiosity and understanding instead of dismissal and denigration.
We have been excited to welcome new faculty, staff, and students to the center. Their backgrounds, passion, and ideas are energizing. We are also grateful for the continued steady hand of the center’s leadership, administrative, and communication teams. It is an honor to work alongside such a stellar group.
In the year to come, the center will prioritize major initiatives focused on AI and journalism, election integrity, and building social connections among individuals and between people and the institutions upon which they rely. If you’re interested in learning more, please feel welcome to reach out or follow us on social media for updates. We would be delighted to hear from you.
We are eternally grateful to those who fund our work – we couldn’t do it without you. From foundations like the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and Democracy Fund, to individual donors, to the Moody College of Communication and the Office of the Vice President for Research at The University of Texas at Austin, we thank you.
Most of all, we are thankful for you. Your time engaging with and supporting our work makes it all worth it. All of our very best wishes to you and yours in the year to come,
Natalie (Talia) Jomini Stroud, Ph.D.
Director, Center for Media Engagement
The center’s interdisciplinary expertise is focused on initiatives including:
Center
Initiatives
Building Connection
As social trust erodes and polarization deepens, we work to connect people and foster a sense of belonging. Through our connective democracy initiative, we bring together newsrooms, scholars, platforms, and policymakers to bridge divides in our society.
Addressing Falsehoods
Our work examines how social media, AI, and other digital tools are used to manipulate public opinion. In partnership with newsrooms and technology firms, we help people sort fact from fiction.
Understanding AI
AI is transforming the media ecosystem. We lead efforts to understand how AI can help people learn and connect, while also exploring its pitfalls and guarding against its misuse.
Analyzing Social Media
Platforms and policymakers are grappling with the rapidly evolving digital ecosystem. We provide insights for smarter policy and platform design by researching the use and effects of search, messaging, and social media.
2025 Key
Outcomes
Connective Posts: A New Approach to Political Conversations on Social Media
In a time of increasing political and social division across the United States, our study finds that small changes in the way we communicate online may improve the quality of conversations. The research explores the role of “connective language” — phrases that express openness and humility, such as “correct me if I’m wrong” or “this is just my opinion”— in political posts on social media platforms. Although these posts do not spark more engagement (e.g., likes or replies), they do lead to a more enjoyable online experience. The findings highlight the value of connective language in improving online discussions and suggest that social media companies could consider surfacing more posts with connective language.
Quotes and Credibility: How Storytelling Approaches Shape Perceptions Across Party Lines
Declining trust in U.S. media, especially among conservatives, can amplify divisions and encourage the spread of misinformation. Our research reveals that the way news stories are told can influence how credible and biased the stories are perceived to be, especially across political lines. We tested five storytelling approaches: quoting only a government official without noting political affiliation, quoting only a Republican or only a Democratic lawmaker, quoting both Democratic and Republican lawmakers, and posts that provide context about why the story is important but do not include any quotes. Democrats rated all news posts as significantly more credible than Republicans did, regardless of the storytelling approach, and members of both parties had the highest credibility ratings for news posts that only quoted a government official but did not note political affiliation.
Power Struggles: Texans’ Thoughts On The AI Data Center Boom and Its Environmental Impacts
Texas has one of the highest national concentrations of AI data centers, facilities that pose a significant strain on the state’s power grid and water reserves. Although public opinion about AI is mixed, there is little information on how people feel about the environmental impact. Our study is one of the first to explore public attitudes related to AI and its environmental impact. We surveyed 800 Texas residents to assess their concerns about AI, their perceptions of its environmental impact, and their trust in government and industry to govern it responsibly. The findings offer insights into how people feel about AI.
Can Solidarity Reporting Boost News Story Credibility?
Covering contentious topics, such as protests or social justice issues, can be challenging for news outlets. In the face of this, it’s important to seek out journalistic practices that are seen as credible by people across the political spectrum. Our research examined whether covering an abortion protest using a solidarity approach (where journalists prioritize the firsthand knowledge, insights, and perspectives of people subjected to social injustice) increases perceptions of news story credibility compared to a monitorial approach (a type of watchdog journalism that aims to keep officials publicly accountable by amplifying their actions and comments). The solidarity-style story led to significantly higher perceptions of credibility among Democrats, while Republican readers’ news credibility perceptions were unchanged regardless of which reporting approach was used.
The Local Connection Crisis: New Data on What Communities Need
The Center for Media Engagement collaborated with New_ Public to understand which local digital spaces people use, how they use and view them, and how they feel about their community. The survey revealed that people value local digital spaces, but feel they could be better. People are interested in digital platforms as a way to connect with and stay informed about their local community, but there’s a gap between what they want (like recommendations and public safety information) and what they are getting. We also found that when people encounter toxicity (or when groups make them feel unwelcome, annoyed, overwhelmed, or like they don’t fit), they leave local digital spaces. Having community stewards (hosts who are cultivating the shared space) can help people have a more positive experience.
Ethics Case Study: Can Artificial Intelligence Improve Democracy?
Despite extensive concerns surrounding the intersection of AI and politics, emerging research has pointed to AI as a powerful tool to increase constituents’ confidence in elected officials. When high-performing AI technology was used in legislative correspondence, constituents felt increased trust and connection to their lawmakers, especially compared to “auto-responses” usually issued in response to constituent feedback. However, given AI’s unregulated nature and technology’s rapid integration into politics, many worry AI could pose significant threats to a representative democracy. One concern is that government officials may utilize AI to collect and pool comments and opinions from constituents without considering individual arguments or concerns. Additionally, some researchers are concerned about the potential biases influencing the operation of AI systems.
2025
By The Numbers
40+ MEDIA MENTIONS
showcasing our expertise
30+ SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
featuring our team members
20 SCHOLARLY ARTICLES
published in journals
8 OP-ED & ANALYSIS PIECES
written for media, trade, & policy orgs
8 PUBLIC-FACING REPORTS
published by our center
5 CASE STUDIES
released for free educational use
3 EVENTS & WORKSHOPS
hosted by our center
2 BOOKS
published by our researchers
Impact
Highlights
SHARED EXPERTISE
Our team reached audiences around the globe at conferences and invited speaking engagements hosted by organizations such as:
- American Political Science Association
- Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication
- Association of Science Communicators
- Clinton Global Initiative
- Harvard University’s Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy
- International Symposium of Online Journalism
- MacArthur Foundation
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
- National Communication Association
- Public Values in the Algorithmic Society (AlgoSoc)
- Stanford University
- SUNY Research Leadership Academy
- The Alabama Science Communication Initiative
- Texas Tribune
- University of Houston
- University of St. Thomas Department of Emerging Media
PRESS
Our expertise was featured by a variety of local, national, and international trade publications and media outlets, including:
- American Press Institute
- Bloomberg
- Columbia Journalism Review
- Forbes
- Houston Chronicle
- Newsweek
- Nieman Lab
- PBS News
- PolitiFact
- Reuters
- The Associated Press
- The Dallas Morning News
- The New York Times
- World Association of News Publishers
OUTREACH AND COLLABORATION
We helped journalists, academics, and policymakers connect with our work and understand how to put our findings into practice through workshops and events:
- Convened with a delegation of European leaders to share key insights from our work on the intersection of technology and democracy
- Presented our work on bias in news media to The Texas Tribune
- Hosted guest lectures on the impact of social media on youth well-being and on how online search behaviors can unintentionally increase belief in misinformation
We partnered with organizations including the International News Media Association, the Knight-Georgetown Institute, New_ Public, the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, the Media and Democracy Data Cooperative, and Tech Policy Press.
RESEARCH REACH
Our research content received more than 450,000 pageviews on our website.
Our case studies were used by 141 universities and colleges, 145 secondary schools, and 30 learning platforms this year alone.
In a special issue of Social Media + Society, we curated a collection of scholarly articles that explore connective democracy, our initiative that brings together newsrooms, scholars, platforms, and policymakers to bridge societal divides.
Our center was featured as a resource in the Democracy Toolkit, a project of the Center for Journalism & Democracy with Hearken, and in The Journalist’s Resource, a project of Harvard Kennedy School’s Shorenstein Center.
Capital B News referenced our research on Black news consumers in their strategic plan’s commitment to “help create and coach talent, and rebuild a pipeline of local journalists.”
Grok AI on the X platform cited the Center for Media Engagement as a resource for learning about ethics and news headlines.
