person

Matt DeButts


Matt DeButts
 is a PhD student in Communication and a Knight-Hennessy Scholar. A former Beijing-based journalist from 2014-2019, Matt is interested in how government and media institutions shape public beliefs, especially in the context of fast-moving or high-uncertainty stories and rumors. His current research projects explore the effect of remote reporting on news production, the possibility of using foreign languages to evade censorship, and the adaptation of propaganda to new media platforms. Matt holds a B.A. in Law, Jurisprudence and Social Thought from Amherst College, and an M.A. in China Studies from Peking University. His journalistic work has been published in the Los Angeles Times, Vox, Foreign Policy, and elsewhere.