Research Interests

My research explores how political attitudes develop and evolve in online environments, with a focus on misinformation and fake news. I examine how individuals across the world process political information in digital environments and how exposure to different types of factual corrections and media cues shapes their political beliefs and behavior. Methodologically, I combine survey experiments with large-scale observational data and complement these approaches with qualitative interviews with journalists and practitioners.

Misinformation

Digital Politics

Electoral Campaigns

Political Psychology

Survey Methods

Experimental Methods

Research Projects in Progress

Who Gets Fact-Checked? Attention Gaps in PolitiFact’s Coverage to U.S. Legislators

Are fact-checking agencies more likely to cover statements made by individuals of certain demographic backgrounds? Previous studies suggest that politicians from underrepresented groups tend to receive less attention from traditional media, but no research has explored this possibility in fact-checking journalism. I analyze how PolitiFact covered statements from members of Congress between 2007 and 2022. The results suggest that legislators from panethnic groups receive less attention, even though their statements more often meet the fact-checker's standards of what should be covered.

The Language of Truth: How Lexical Choices Influence Fact-Checking Reception

People who support outsider or anti-establishment political leaders tend to believe and share misinformation more often, yet they are the least likely to trust or engage with fact-checkers. This mixed-methods project aims to identify specific aspects of factual corrections that might turn these groups away. I show through observational data that online fact-checkers use linguistic markers that are less morally charged and more associated with a liberal identity than other media outlets, even those considered liberal. I propose a survey experiment to test whether changes in these linguistic features can increase acceptance of corrections and trust in fact-checking among skeptical audiences.

Campaign Negativity and Political Participation in the Social Media Era

(With Asahi Obata and Randy Stevenson) Do negative political campaigns lead to lower political participation? We revisit this question in the current era of multiple social and media platforms. While several studies have explored whether negative campaigns on traditional media lead to demobilization, we argue that this relationship is conditional on the media voters see negative campaigning on. We test this through the first immersive artefactual field experiment in the study of social media platforms.

Research Funding

Institutions that supported me with grants and fellowships to conduct and present my research during my PhD.

Teaching Assistant

I have worked as a TA for undergraduate-level classes on American and Comparative Politics, both in English and Spanish, and for graduate-level courses on statistics and quantitative methods. I have experience leading discussion sections and evaluating students’ performance through assignments and exams. In 2024, I completed Rice's Graduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning.

My teaching style privileges active engagement and dynamic learning experiences. I prefer a discussion-based approach whenever possible. I also place significant emphasis on the use of multimedia in the classroom to enhance comprehension and prepare students to navigate a multimedia-rich information landscape.

TA Roles

Quantitative Applications in Global Affairs (Fall 2024)
Prof. Daniel Potter
Rice University
Students' Rating: 4.9
Introduction to American Politics (Fall 2023)
Prof. Jaclyn Kaslovsky
Rice University
Students' Rating: 4.4
Comparative Political Systems (2021)
Prof. Ana Maria Mustapic
Universidad Torcuato Di Tella
Students' Rating: 4.3

Reviews From Students

Agustin was amazing. He gave excellent feedback on papers, graded very fairly, and drove discussions forward with compelling and interesting slideshows.

We had a lot of fun debates, questions, and ideas in our section -- making it the highlight of the entire class for me, due in large part to Agustin's energy, poise, experience, and guidance.

He was a great TA and discussion leader, and always provided opportunities for each student to share their thoughts in class.