To figure out where the public was turning to get the buzz on GM mosquitoes, Guo compared online news coverage of the story with the debate on Twitter. By leveraging computing power, she can sort through thousands-sometimes millions-of articles and posts to better understand mass media’s influence. Those assumptions, she’s found, don’t always hold true.Īn expert on the interplay between the media-especially social media-and public opinion, Guo uses big data research methods to study trust in journalism and how social media giants like Facebook and Twitter impact democracy. “People might say, ‘The news media don’t have any facts anymore, people don’t read news, they check out social media,’” says Guo, Lei, an associate professor of emerging media studies, who lists her family name first as is customary in her native China. But, just as with other stories rich with scientific detail and social debates-think COVID-19 vaccines-where people get their news, and what news they trust, matters. When plans to release GM mosquitoes in Florida first made headlines, they ran into stiff public opposition-even forcing local referendum votes-as fears swirled about unintended consequences harming people and local ecosystems. So scientists are testing an alternative to the chemical sprays: releasing genetically modified (GM) mosquitoes that only produce nonbiting offspring. After years of being flooded with insecticides, the tiny, nibbling flies are becoming resistant to our chemical defenses. The mosquitoes are fighting-and biting-back.
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