Hi there :)

I am a PhD student in Media, Technology, and Society at Northwestern University, advised by Dr. Yingdan Lu. I serve as Lab Manager for the Computational Media and Politics (COMAP) Lab and the Computational Multi-Modal Communication (CMMC) Lab. Before Northwestern, I received my M.A. in Communication from Nanyang Technological University (advised by Dr. Shirley S. Ho) and my B.A. in French Literature from Communication University of China.

My research examines how social media algorithms and generative AI shape information flows and political communication across comparative contexts. Methodologically, I apply causal inference and computational multimodal analysis to analyze large-scale visual and video data. I am particularly interested in:

• AI-generated media and visual communication: how AI-generated images are perceived, classified, and potentially misleading, including their visual realism, surrealist qualities, and implications for misinformation.
• Computational methods for visual and media analysis: examining computational approaches (including LLM-based methods and causal inference techniques) for studying visual media effects in communication research.
• Digital platforms, algorithms, and political communication: how social media algorithms shape the distribution of state-created content, and how large language models encode political values across different global contexts.

You can reach me at xinyiliu[at]u.northwestern.edu.