Jessica R. Collier

Jessica R. Collier is an assistant professor in the Brian Lamb School of Communication. Her research uses experimental and survey methodologies to explore how media organizations and technology platforms interact in ways that can be beneficial or detrimental to democracy. Currently, she studies how exposure to content on social media such as fact checks, misinformation, or political memes affects the accuracy of people's beliefs, levels of polarization, and the tendency to block or unfriend others online. She is also working on projects to understand the social and political implications of using social media for news in the absence of traditional local news outlets. She enjoys teaching political communication and courses that explore the connections between media, technology, and politics. Her work has been published in Political Communication, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, new media & society, International Journal of Communication, and Digital Journalism, among others. Collier received her Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin and was a postdoctoral research fellow at the Center for Media Engagement at UT-Austin.