Associate Professor Renee Barnes
Associate Professor in Journalism
School of Business and Creative Industries
Email: rbarnes1@usc.edu.au
Telephone: +61 7 5430 1260
Location: Sunshine Coast, SD-K-1-1.42A
Prior to joining academia, Renee was a journalist of more than fifteen years Renee has worked for numerous media organisations including the ABC, The Age and Australian Associated Press. Renee is an interdisciplinary researcher examining how digital media environments, particularly disinformation and synthetic content, shape individual vulnerability, behavioural responses, and societal wellbeing, with direct implications for public policy, mental health systems, and democratic resilience. She is the author of two books, Fandom and Polarization in Online Political Discussion: From Pop Culture to Politics (Palgrave 2022) and Uncovering Commenting Culture: Trolls, Fanboys and Lurkers, (Palgrave Macmillan 2018).
Research
Research Summary
Renee’s research program sits at the intersection of disinformation, digital media, and audience wellbeing, with a particular focus on how contemporary information environments shape individual vulnerability, behaviour, and social outcomes. She leads an integrated body of work that examines how emerging forms of mediated communication including: political deepfakes, platformed news, and trauma-related reporting, interact with audience psychology, social context, and digital infrastructures to influence both online and offline behaviour. A central focus of her work is identifying who is most vulnerable to disinformation and why, particularly in the context of synthetic political media.
Research grants
|
Project Name |
Investigators |
Funding Body (Amount) |
Year |
Focus |
|
Vulnerable and Spreading: Targeting Deepfake Political Videos |
Renee Barnes (Lead CI), Rory Mulcahy, Aimee Riedel, Lucas Whittaker |
Office of National Intelligence – National Intelligence Discovery Grant ($535,000) |
2026–2029 |
Examines individual susceptibility to political deepfakes using experimental, biometric, and digital tracking methods to inform national security and democratic resilience |
|
Trauma-Informed Reporting and News Wellbeing |
Renee Barnes, Christina Driver, Alain Brunet (Lead CI) |
Thompson Institute Internal Grant ($15,000) |
2026 |
Investigates the psychological impacts of news content and develops trauma-informed approaches to journalism to support audience wellbeing |
|
Political News Avoidance and Wellbeing |
Renee Barnes (Lead CI), Melissa Innes |
UniSC LAUNCH Grant ($26,144) |
2024–2025 |
Examines motivations for political news avoidance across Australia and Singapore, with a focus on mental health, emotional fatigue, and information overload |
|
Community Insights: Disaster-Ready Information Seeking |
Rory, Mulcahy, Retha Scheepers, Renee Barnes |
Moreton Bay Regional Council ($39,470) |
2024 |
Examines the relationship between communication, resilience, and vulnerability in disaster information environments |
|
Youth Engagement in Sustainability (YES) Research Initiative |
Project Team (Renee Barnes as CI on sub-projects) |
Queensland Government ($200,000 total; $40,092 led projects) |
2022 |
Multi-project initiative engaging young people in research on regional news diversity and health misinformation |
|
Regional Reputation and Media Portrayal |
Renee Barnes (Lead CI), Retha de Villiers Scheepers, Noel Tracey |
Moreton Bay Council ($202,000) |
2021–2027 |
Examines how media representation shapes regional identity, reputation, and community perception |
Dr Barnes welcomes enquiries from students interested in supervision in investigating any elements of online participation, in particular in relation to disinformation, social media and online political communication and how they relate to individual vulnerability, behavioural responses, and societal wellbeing. She has a particular interest in the intersection of popular culture and fan studies with political communication and participatory practice.
Teaching and supervision
Teaching
- Digital Journalism
- Podcasting and radio news
- Social Media
- Research design and methods
- Communication theory
Teaching Summary
Dr Barnes welcomes enquiries from students interested in supervision in investigating any elements of online participation, in particular in relation to online news and social media. She has a particular interest in the intersection of popular culture and fan studies with political communication and participatory practice.
Professional
Awards and memberships
Professional Memberships
- President of the premier Australia and New Zealand communication scholarly association: Australia and New Zealand Communication Association (AANZCA)
-
Editorial Board of leading journals: Media International Australia and Communication Research and Practice.
Professional Social Media
Media
Renee's specialist areas of knowledge include digital journalism and new media, disinformation and synthetic media, political deepfakes, online behaviours including trolling, social media, alternative journalism, podcasting.