Masahiro Yamamoto

Masahiro Yamamoto is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication at the University at Albany. His research focuses on political communication, social media's role in civic engagement, and trust in news media. He explores how digital media influences political knowledge, attitudes, and participation, with recent work addressing reducing animosity toward oppositional news outlets and enhancing critical media literacy.

Yamamoto currently teaches courses on communication research methods, digital/social media strategies, and media literacy. He serves as an Associate Editor of Mass Communication and Society and previously led the Mass Communication and Society Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (2020-2021). His publications span peer-reviewed journals such as Communication Research, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, and New Media & Society.

His research themes include misinformation dynamics, AI trust in workplaces, and the societal impacts of digital technologies. He has conducted cross-national studies on news literacy in the Pacific region and analyzed pandemic-era communication challenges. Yamamoto’s work bridges theoretical frameworks like expectancy violations theory with applied issues in media ethics and civic participation.