Q. (Qinfeng) Zhu, PhD

Current major projects:

1. Navigating existential uncertainty: How do social media influence ideological extremism?

• Abstract: Ideological extremism is on the rise across Europe, and social media may play a key role. This project investigates how social media shape perceptions of threats and crises, amplify feelings of existential anxiety, and thereby increase the appeal of extremist ideologies as a coping mechanism. Through in-depth interviews and a two-wave panel survey in the Netherlands, this study fills an important knowledge gap by exploring the emotional mechanisms underlying social media’s political impact. The findings will provide insights to strengthen emotional resilience in digital environments, helping people navigate social media for personal and societal well-being in turbulent political times.
• Funded by NWO SSH Open Competition XS

2. Affective polarization in European multiparty systems: A multidimensional, cross-country comparative study

• Abstract: Affective polarization—the emotional divide between political groups marked by in-group favouritism and out-group animosity—threatens democratic norms and stability. Existing research predominantly focuses on the U.S. two-party system, often reducing affective polarization to a single dimension defined by the partisan fault line. This deductive approach overlooks the complexities of multiparty systems, where voters have greater freedom in defining in-and out-group boundaries. To address this gap, this project develops a novel conceptual and methodological framework to examine the multidimensional nature of affective polarization in multiparty democracies. We ask: What are the dimensions of affective polarization? How are these dimensions shaped by political and media systems? We explore these questions using non-metric multidimensional scaling within a cross-country comparative design.

3. The sociotechnical imaginaries of AI as political actors: A cross-country longitudinal study

• with Fan Liang (Duke Kunshan University) & Gabriel M. Li (Chapman University)

4. Political selfies and electoral compasses

• with Eedan Amit-Danhi (University of Groningen) & Thijs de Zee (University of Groningen)

5. No plan(et) B: Exploring new policy-making collaboration between climate change-related social movements and political institutions in the northern Netherlands

• Abstract: This project seeks to examine the social movements that have emerged in response to the issue of climate change in the Netherlands, specifically in the northern region and in and around Groningen (e.g. Fridays for Future, Extinction Rebellion, etc.). The study focuses on how these movements operate, and how their internal organisation and structure have evolved over time.
• Funded by RUG Incentive fund for interdisciplinary projects
• with Dr. Marc Esteve Del Valle (PI), Dr. Franco Ruzzenenti, & MA Julia Meyer

Major past projects (2022-2024):

1. Political participation on social media: A safe space perspective

• Output:
  • Zhu, Q., & Skoric, M. M. (2025). When politics is personal: Curating safe spaces through disconnection on instant messaging platforms. Journal of Information Technology & Politics, 22(1), 98-112.
  • Zhu, Q., Esteve-Del-Valle, M., & Meyer, J. K. (2024). Safe spaces? Grounding political talk in WhatsApp groups. New Media & Society, 26(9), 5423-5444.
  • Zhu, Q. (2023). The politics of disconnection: A systematic review of politically motivated unfriending. International Journal of Communication, 17, 24.

2. Disconnectivity in a changing media and political landscape: A multi-contextual and interdisciplinary lens

• with Çiğdem Bozdağ (University of Groningen)
• Special issue at Media and Communication (2024)

3. Fact-checking: A comparison of Hong Kong, the United States, and the Netherlands.

• Funded by the General Research Fund (GRF) of the Research Grants Council, Hong Kong
• with Xinzhi Zhang (PI, City University of Hong Kong), Winson Tai-Quan Peng (Michigan State University)
• Output:
  • Zhu, Q., Peng, T. Q., & Zhang, X. (2025). How do individual and societal factors shape news authentication? Comparing misinformation resilience across Hong Kong, the Netherlands, and the United States. The International Journal of Press/Politics
  • Zhang, X., Peng, T. Q., & Zhu, Q. (2025). Social media misinformation wars: How message features, political cynicism, and conspiracy beliefs shape government-led public health debunking effectiveness. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly