AUTHORED PIECES
Efrat Nechushtai. “Journalism wants to be your friend, not your teacher.”
Nieman Lab, December 18, 2018.
Seth C. Lewis and Efrat Nechushtai. “Google News serves conservatives and liberals similar results, but favors mainstream media.” The Conversation,
August 31, 2018. (The article was featured in multiple publications, including
The Associated Press, Chicago Tribune and The Oregonian, and included in the
“Fact Check” section of Google News)
Andrea Wenzel, Sam Ford, Steve Bynum, and Efrat Nechushtai. “Can Report for America build trust in local news? A view from two communities.” Columbia Journalism Review, May 6, 2019. (The article generated a public response from Report for America, engaging with our conclusions and pointing the merits of the study)
CITED IN
“‘Is he a local boy?’ Is Report for America building trust within the communities it serves?” Nieman Lab, May 6, 2019.
“Why Google is the perfect target for Trump.” Wired. August 28, 2018.
“Does your Google News change based on whether you’re conservative or liberal?” Nieman Lab, August 17, 2018.
QUOTED IN
“Beyond Alex Jones: Twitter and Facebook face heat over alleged bias.” The Christian Science Monitor, September 7, 2018.
AUTHORED PIECES
Efrat Nechushtai. “Journalism wants to be your friend, not your teacher.”
Nieman Lab, December 18, 2018.
Seth C. Lewis and Efrat Nechushtai. “Google News serves conservatives and liberals similar results, but favors mainstream media.” The Conversation,
August 31, 2018. (The article was featured in multiple publications, including
The Associated Press, Chicago Tribune and The Oregonian, and included in the
“Fact Check” section of Google News)
Andrea Wenzel, Sam Ford, Steve Bynum, and Efrat Nechushtai. “Can Report for America build trust in local news? A view from two communities.” Columbia Journalism Review, May 6, 2019. (The article generated a public response from Report for America, engaging with our conclusions and pointing the merits of the study)
CITED IN
“‘Is he a local boy?’ Is Report for America building trust within the communities it serves?” Nieman Lab, May 6, 2019.
“Why Google is the perfect target for Trump.” Wired. August 28, 2018.
“Does your Google News change based on whether you’re conservative or liberal?” Nieman Lab, August 17, 2018.
QUOTED IN
“Beyond Alex Jones: Twitter and Facebook face heat over alleged bias.” The Christian Science Monitor, September 7, 2018.
Hello and welcome! My name is Efrat Nechushtai and I'm an assistant professor in the School of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University. I study the impact of platformization and political polarization on journalism in the US and internationally.
Most recently, my book Does Trust Matter? Why Journalists Need to Rethink the Relationship with Their Audience was published by the Columbia University Press (2026). The book explores how the desire to build trust in the news can be weaponized against journalists and leave them vulnerable to manipulation.
I have published qualitative, quantitative, and theoretical studies on these topics in Journalism, The International Journal of Press/Politics, Mass Communication and Society, Computers in Human Behavior, Journalism Studies, and Information & Culture.
My scholarship has received several awards, including the 2025 Mass Communication and Society Article of the Year award, the 2022 Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum Award for Scholarship in Postal History, the 2022 Top Paper Abstract Award from the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Political Communication division (Midwinter conference), and the 2021 Top Faculty Paper award from the International Communication Association Journalism Studies division.
You can find my Google Scholar page here. Feel free to contact me here.