Specialization:
Paul Mena teaches Journalism and News Writing, Digital Journalism, Multiplatform Journalism, and Writing and Ethics. He received his Ph.D. in Mass Communication from the University of Florida. His areas of research are journalism, misinformation, fact-checking, and credibility. His academic work has been published in Journalism, Social Media + Society, Journalism Practice, Policy & Internet, and Media and Communication. He worked as a professional journalist in Ecuador, reporting for BBC News Mundo, El Pais (Spain), and Ecuadorian media. As a Fulbright scholar, he obtained his master's degree in Mass Communications and Journalism Studies at the University of South Florida, St. Petersburg.
Publications:
Mena, P. (2021) Reducing misperceptions through news stories with data visualization: The role of readers' prior knowledge and prior beliefs. Journalism. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/14648849211028762
Metzger, M. J., Flanagin, A. J., Mena, P., Jiang, S., & Wilson, C. (2021) From Dark to Light: The Many Shades of Sharing Misinformation Online. Media and Communication, 9(1), 134-143. https://dx.doi.org/10.17645/mac.v9i1.3409
Mena, P., Barbe, D., & Chan-Olmsted, S. (2020). Misinformation on Instagram: The impact of trusted endorsements on message credibility. Social Media + Society, 6(2), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305120935102
Mena, P. (2020). Cleaning up social media: The effect of warning labels on likelihood of sharing false news on Facebook. Policy & Internet. 12(2), 165-183 https://doi.org/10.1002/poi3.214
Mena, P. (2019). Principles and boundaries of fact-checking: Journalists' perceptions. Journalism Practice, 13(6), 667-672. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2018.1547655