Zhifan Luo's research investigates the intricate interplay among digital technologies, political power, and civil society. Two questions propel this investigation. In the authoritarian context, how do the rulers adapt to the digital age, and how does the adaptation affect civic life and discourses? In the democratic context, how does digital technology reshape civil relationships and civic engagement? Her research has appeared in peer-reviewed journals such as New Media & Society, Information, Communication & Society, Journal of Political Power, Armed Forces & Society, and China: An International Journal.
Luo is currently working on two research projects. The first one is built upon a self-compiled dataset of public discourse on domestic violence from the Chinese social media platform, Weibo, spanning the years 2009 to 2019. In this project, her research team is analyzing how the state, media, feminist activists, and the public contested and shaped the narratives on this issue. The second project is based on another self-compiled dataset comprising all publicly available tweets about censorship from 2006 to 2022. This project will examine the weaponization of the term "censorship" within democratic contexts, aiming to illuminate the transformation of the public sphere in the digital age.
