Stephanie Jean TSANG

Stephanie Jean Tsang is Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Studies, School of Communication, Hong Kong Baptist University, where she leads the BU Audience Research Lab (BUAR). She also serves as the director of HKBU Fact Check. Her research focuses on the psychology of the media audiences, particularly the study of message effects and persuasion on digital media.

Tsang has developed three major lines of inquiry: 1) the role of misinformation and disinformation in politics and health; 2) the impact of digital media on audience outcomes; and 3) the influence of message processing on social evaluations and behaviors. Her work has appeared in numerous scholarly journals including Journal of Communication, Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, Media Psychology, Communication Studies, and Journalism (Google Scholar).

Tsang received her Ph.D. in Mass Communications from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, her M.Phil. in Communication from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and her B.A. in Communication Studies and B.A. in Economics from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Research Interests

Fake news and misinformation
Media psychology
Science communication
Social media engagement

Publications

Journal Articles

Tsang, S., Zheng, J., Li, W., & Salaudeen, M. (2023). An Experimental Study of the Effectiveness of Fact Checks: Interplay of Evidence Type, Veracity, and News Agreement. Online Information Review. Advance online publication.

Zhao, X., & Tsang, S. (2023). How People Process Different Types of Misinformation on Social Media: A Taxonomy Based on Falsity Level and Evidence Type. Health Communication. Advance online publication.

Tsang, S. (2023). Communicating Climate Change: The Impact of Animated Data Visualizations on Perceptions of Journalistic Motive and Media Bias. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media. Advance online publication.

Tsang, S. (2022). Biased, not lazy: Assessing the effect of COVID-19 misinformation tactics on perceptions of inaccuracy and fakeness. Online Media and Global Communication, 1(3), 469-496.

Shi, J., Chen, L., & Tsang, S. (2022). Integrating interpersonal communication into the influence of presumed media influence model: Understanding intentions to censor and correct COVID-19 misinformation on social media. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 66(3), 464-483.

Zhao, X., & Tsang, S. (2022). Self-protection by fact-checking: How information seeking and verifying affect preventive behaviors in the pandemic. Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, 30(2), 171-184.

Tsang, S. (2022). Predicting COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in Hong Kong: Vaccine knowledge, risks from coronavirus, and risks and benefits of vaccination. Vaccine: X, 100164.

Zhao, X., Tsang, S., & Xu, S. (2022). Motivated responsibility attribution in a pandemic: Roles of political orientation, perceived severity, and construal level. International Journal of Communication, 16(2022), 2260-2282.

Tsang, S. (2022). Issue stance and perceived journalistic motives explain divergent audience perceptions of fake news. Journalism, 23(4), 823-840.

Tsang, S., Zhao, X., & Chen, Y. R. (2021). Assessing mechanisms underlying the sharing of official and unofficial information during a pandemic. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(24), 13298.

Tsang, S. (2021). Motivated fake news perception: The impact of news sources and policy support on audiences’ assessment of news fakeness. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 98(4),1059-1077.

Tsang, S., Huang, Y., Zhang, Y., Song, Y., & Zhou, L. (2021). 信息診斷系統設計思路：人工核查、廣眾參與和人工智能的三合一運用 [Theorizing an Information Diagnosis System: The hybrid uses of manual fact-checking, crowdsourcing and artificial intelligence]. 全球傳媒學刊, 8(1), 66-93. 

Tsang, S. (2020). Understanding perceived fakeness of online health news in Hong Kong. International Journal of Digital Literacy and Digital Competence, 11(2), 1-11.

Tsang, S., & Rojas, H. (2020). Opinion leaders, perceived media hostility and political participation. Communication Studies, 71(5), 753-767.

Tsang, S. (2019). Cognitive discrepancy, dissonance, and selective exposure. Media Psychology, 22(3), 394-417.

Tsang, S. (2018). Empathy and the hostile media phenomenon. Journal of Communication, 68(4), 809-829.

Carr, D. J., Barnidge, M., Lee, B., & Tsang, S. (2014). Cynics and skeptics: Evaluating the credibility of mainstream and citizen journalism. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 91(3), 452 – 470.

Yoo, W., Namkoong, K., Choi, M., Shah, D. V., Tsang, S., Hong, Y., Aguilar, M., & Gustafson, D. H. (2014). Giving and receiving emotional support online: Communication competence as a moderator of psychosocial benefits for women with breast cancer. Computers in Human Behavior, 30, 13-22.

Mclaughlin, B., Yoo, W., D’Angelo, J., Tsang, S., Shaw, B., Shah, D., Baker, T., & Gustafson, D. (2013). It’s out of my hands: How deferring control to God can decrease quality of life for breast cancer patients. Psycho-Oncoloy, 22(12), 2747-2754.

Tsang, S. (2013). Examining the impact of news attention and education on political tolerance in Hong Kong. Chinese Journal of Communication, 6(3), 286-304.

Edited Book

Tsang, S., Zhou, L., & Huang, Y. (eds.) (2024). Everything about Fact-checking (In Chinese). The Commercial Press (HK). 

Book Chapters

Tsang, S. (in press). Mapping the Boundaries of Fact-checking: Concrete vs. Arbitrary Criteria for Misinformation Selection. In (eds.) Checking the Factcheckers: A Global Perspective. Routledge. 

Tsang, S. (2024). Overview of Fact-checking. In Tsang, S., Zhou, L., & Huang, Y. (eds.) Everything about Fact-checking (in Chinese). The Commercial Press (HK). 

Tsang, S. (2024). The Development of Fact-checking in Hong Kong. In Tsang, S., Zhou, L., & Huang, Y. (eds.) Everything about Fact-checking (in Chinese). The Commercial Press (HK). 

Tsang, S. (2024). Views of Hong Kong Residents on the Regulation of Misinformation. In Tsang, S., Zhou, L., & Huang, Y. (eds.) Everything about Fact-checking (in Chinese). The Commercial Press (HK). 

Tsang, S. (2024). The Audience's Comprehension and Evaluation of Bias in Fact-checking Content. In Tsang, S., Zhou, L., & Huang, Y. (eds.) Everything about Fact-checking (in Chinese). The Commercial Press (HK). 

Tsang, S. and Dong, X. (2024). The Usage of the Term "Fake News" in Hong Kong Social Media. In Tsang, S., Zhou, L., & Huang, Y. (eds.) Everything about Fact-checking (in Chinese). The Commercial Press (HK). 

Tsang, S. (2024). The Cutting-edge Technology of Fact-checking. In Tsang, S., Zhou, L., & Huang, Y. (eds.) Everything about Fact-checking (in Chinese). The Commercial Press (HK). 

Tsang, S. (2020). News Credibility and Literacy in the Digital Age. In Information Resources Management Association (Ed.), Research Anthology on Fake News, Political Warfare, and Combatting the Spread of Misinformation (pp. 544-564). IGI Global. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-7291-7 (Reprinted from Media Literacy Research and Applications Across Disciplines (pp. 135-155), by M. N. Yildiz, M. Fazal, M, Ahn, R. Feirsen, & S. Ozdemir, Eds., 2019, IGI Global) 

Tsang, S. (2019). News Credibility and Literacy in the Digital Age. In M. N. Yildiz, M. Fazal, M, Ahn, R. Feirsen, & S. Ozdemir. (Eds.), Media Literacy Research and Applications Across Disciplines (pp. 135-155). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-5225-9261-7

Other Publications

Tsang, S. (2023, April 4). What’s the key to regulating misinformation? Let’s start with a common language. Poynter.

Tsang, S. (2022, March 31).  Understanding how to boost elderly vaccination rate [  提高長者接種率調查報告 ]. The Combating COVID-19 in Hong Kong Project by Hong Kong Baptist University, Report 4.

Tsang, S. (2021, July 16).  Understanding Vaccine Hesitancy in Hong Kong [  了解香港「疫苗猶豫」現況及原因 ]. The Overcoming Vaccine Hesitancy in Hong Kong Project by Hong Kong Baptist University, Report 5.

Tsang, S. (2021). 香港：浸大事實查核中心誕生的背後 [Hong Kong: The Launch of HKBU FactCheck Service]. Asia-Pacific Journalism Review, 1, 5.

Tsang, S. (2021, July 5). 「疫苗猶豫」與香港市民對假新聞的看法 [COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy and Perception of the Fake News Phenomenon]. BUAR. 

Tsang, S. (2021, July 2). 香港市民接種新冠疫苗的原因 [Reasons to Get the COVID-19 Vaccine]. BUAR. 

Tsang, S. (2021, June 30). 「疫苗猶豫」背後的恐懼 [Fear and COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy]. BUAR. 

Tsang, S., & Dong, X. (2021). 香港Facebook新聞專頁分析報告 2020 [Hong Kong Facebook News Analytics Report 2020]. BUAR. 

Tsang, S., Wu, Y., Zhou, L., & Wang, M. (2021). 香港Facebook新聞專頁分析報告: 「假新聞」回應與嘲諷心理（二零二一年一月） [Hong Kong Facebook News Analytics Report: Mocking with Replies using “Fake News” (January 2021)]. BUAR.

Tsang, S., & Wang, M. (2021). 香港Facebook新聞專頁分析報告: 新聞主題與用戶互動（二零二零年十二月） [Hong Kong Facebook News Analytics Report: News Themes and User Engagement (December 2020)]. BUAR. 

Tsang, S., & Wu, Y. (2021). 香港Facebook新聞專頁分析報告: 新聞形式與用戶互動（二零二零年十一月） [Hong Kong Facebook News Analytics Report: News Formats and User Engagement (November 2020)]. BUAR. 

Awards/Grants/Honors

Awards

2021
Distinguished Reviewer 2020, Journal of Media Psychology.

2016-2017
Louise Elizabeth George Scholarship Fund, School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

2012
Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (Civic and Citizen Journalism Interest Group), Top Student Paper Award with Carr, J., Barnidge, M., Lee, B., and Villanueva, J.

External Grants

2024
Principal Coordinator, ENGAGE 2023 Grant Award. International Fact-Checking Network. Information Literacy Exhibition and Fact-checking Workshop by HKBU Fact Check. US$100,000. 

2021
Principal Investigator. The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups. Media and Artificial Intelligence Literacy Research for Teachers and Students. $198,625.

2020
Principal Investigator, General Research Fund. University Grants Council, HKSAR. Understanding Political Disinformation with Facebook Audience Insights and Eye-tracking Technology. $292,400.

Internal Grants

2023
Principal Investigator, Communication Faculty Research Grant. School of Communication, Hong Kong Baptist University. Science Literacy and Misinformation Susceptibility. HK$60,000.

2022
Principal Investigator, Initiation Grant for Faculty Niche Research Areas (IG-FNRA) (RC-FNRA-IG/22-23/SCI/02), Hong Kong Baptist University. Risk management and trust building: The reception of mediated COVID-19 health communication. HK$801,542. (Transferred from Prof. Liu Min-hua). 

2021
Principal Investigator, Communication-Media-Culture Studies Funding Scheme. The School of Communication, Hong Kong Baptist University. Advancing Fact-checking Interventions for Mobile Device Users using an Eye-Tracking Approach. $200,000.

2020
Principal Coordinator, Teaching Development Grant – Communities of Practice. Centre for Holistic Teaching and Learning, Hong Kong Baptist University. BU Fact Check. HK$494,856.

2020
Principal Investigator, Digital Scholarship Grant. HKBU Library and the Graduate School, Hong Kong Baptist University. Facebook News Analytics in Hong Kong. HK$97,200.

2019
Principal Investigator, Communication Faculty Research Grant. School of Communication, Hong Kong Baptist University. Hostile Media 2.0. HK$60,000.

2019
Co-Investigator, Initiation Grant for Faculty Niche Research Areas. Hong Kong Baptist University. Macro Environment and Non-company News on Stock Market Performance: A Comparative Study of Media Sentiment, Public Engagement, and Prediction Models. HK$586,560.

2018
Principal Investigator, Faculty Research Grant II. Hong Kong Baptist University. Understanding Facebook Likes, Shares and Comments: A Comparative Study of Hong Kong and the United States. HK$55,770.

2017
Principal Investigator, Tier 1 Start-up Grant. Hong Kong Baptist University. HK$100,000.

Media interviews

2024, April 1. AI打字僅2分鐘可生成4秒短片 學者指應探討規管 市民：假東西比真的還要真. 有線新聞.

2022, December 19. ‘I don’t trust it:’ Vaccine hesitancy lingers even as China COVID cases surge. Reuters.

2022, June 26. The Chinese fact checkers taking on the Covid infodemic – a rumour at a time. South China Morning Post. 

2022, February 20. 防疫速遞. RTHK 香港電台.

2022, January 19. 今日我做莊：香港浸會大學事實查核中心聯席主任 王悅博士、曾姿穎博士. RTHK 香港電台.

2022, January 11. Hong Kong had a year to vaccinate its elderly. As omicron spreads, low uptake has left them vulnerable. The Washington Post.

2022, January 4. 香港浸會大學事實查核中心成立一週年 全年共計查核出69篇假新聞. 廣東電視台.

2021, August 19. 誰為真假定分界：香港如何應對資訊漩渦？. 立場新聞.

2021, July 29. Fake News and how we can live with them. 123 Show, RTHK Radio 3.

2021, July 28. 香港浸會大學研究計劃助市民緩減「疫苗猶豫」. 鳳凰秀, 鳳凰衛視.

2021, July 27. 微軟主席蓋茲利用人類恐懼，透過疫苗將晶片植入人體？. 新聞 Fact Check, 有線新聞i-Cable News.

2021, July 13. 外國流傳「疫症」滅絕人口計劃. 新聞 Fact Check, 有線新聞i-Cable News.

2021, June 21. 「假新聞法」. 經緯線, Now 財經 新聞.

2021, June 20. 「假新聞法」. 經緯線, ViuTV.

2021, May 30. 通識導賞：假新聞法 誰定真假. 明報OL.

2021, May 25. 復必泰疫苗將耗盡 想接種要趁早？ 新聞 Fact Check, 有線新聞i-Cable News.

2021, April 26. 打擊假新聞 提升全民媒體素養. 深度報導, 香港01 (HK01).

2021, March 22. 袁國勇曾說不打疫苗？ 新聞 Fact Check, 有線新聞i-Cable News.

2021, March 14. 假資訊全球關注 學者成立事實查核中心查證網絡傳說. 新聞 Fact Check, 有線新聞i-Cable News.

2021, January 20. 假資訊涉各領域 企業不能不防. 行政人員版, 香港經濟日報 (HKET).

2021, January 20. 大學成立事實查核中心 分辨假新聞. 行政人員版, 香港經濟日報 (HKET).

2020, December 30. ‘BU FactCheck’ launched to fight fake news. Hong Kong Today, Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK).