Won-Ki Moon, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor - Department of Advertising

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Dr. Won-Ki Moon (Ph.D. University of Texas at Austin) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Advertising in the College of Journalism and Communications at the University of Florida. His research consistently delves into the intricate web of individuals' decision-making processes, information processing, and the utilization of scientific information in everyday contexts. His research interests stem from his background in consumer behavior, media psychology, and science/risk communication.

Dr. Moon's work explores how emerging technologies, especially artificial intelligence and artificial humans, intersect with human behavior. He has extensively probed the implications of AI in the strategic communication realm, scrutinizing its role in shaping information-processing landscapes and influencing public perceptions of social issues.

Dr. Moon's current academic endeavors also center on the crucial concept of "AI for social good," with a specific emphasis on the ethical implementation of artificial intelligence to enhance societal well-being. His inquiries encompass responsible innovation in AI and the social responsibility of technology corporations. He also studies public understanding of science within various scientific realms, including but not limited to AI, climate change, health, and medicine. His research unravels the impact of science knowledge and trust on individual decision-making processes and information consumption behaviors. Dr. Moon's scholarly curiosity extends to the dynamics of politics and society as they pertain to science and technology policies.

Dr. Moon's prolific contributions span a multitude of distinguished publications in premier communication and science journals: Energy Policy, Science Communication, Health Communication, Public Relations Review, Journal of Risk Research, Journal of Responsible Innovation, Mass Communication & Society, Computers in Human Behavior, Journal of Information Science, and Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, among others.

Areas of Expertise

Artificial Intelligence (AI), Consumer Psychology, Media Psychology and Media Effects, Science Communication, Social Marketing

Education

Ph.D. in Advertising, University of Texas at Austin
M.A. in Journalism, University of South Carolina
B.A. and M.A. in Mass Communication, Incheon National University in South Korea

News

• Won-Ki Moon Offers Information on Classroom Best Practices at 2025 UF Quest Day (March 28, 2025)
• Personalized Ads: Friend, Foe or Creepy Stalker? (January 28, 2025)
• Study: Transparent Messages and Algorithmic Awareness Can Shape Advertising Effectiveness (December 16, 2024)
• “Don’t Believe Everything You Read Online”: How AI Fact-Checking Could Challenge Political Bias in Science Information Processing (December 12, 2024)
• Can Virtual Humans Combat Climate Change Misinformation? (April 18, 2024)
• All News About Won-Ki Moon

Publications

Refereed Journal Articles

Moon, W., & Kahlor, L. (2025). Fact-checking in the age of AI: Reducing biases with non-human information sources. Technology in Society.

Song, Y., Brown-Devlin, N., & Moon, W. (2025). “False advertising, fact-checked” examining how social identification affects fact-checking of false advertisements. International Journal of Advertising.

Moon, W., Wei, X., Holly, O., & Kim, J. (2025). Between innovation and caution: How consumers’ risk perception shapes consumers’ AI product decisions. Journal of Current Issues & Research in Advertising.

Lim, H., Ciszek, E., & Moon, W. (2024). Advertising for brands and society: the role of perceived authenticity in corporate transgender advocacy advertising campaigns. Journal of homosexuality.

Lee, S., Song, Y., & Moon, W. (2024). Is it transparent or surveillant? The effects of behavioral targeting and transparency cues on advertising effectiveness. Journal of Interactive Advertising.

Kim, J., Moon, W., & Lee, J. (2024). The role of corporate social advocacy forms in shaping young adults’ responses. Corporate Communication: An International Journal.

Moon, W., Song, Y., & Atkinson, L. (2024). Virtual voices for real change: The efficacy of virtual humans in pro-environmental social marketing for mitigating misinformation about climate change. Computers in Human Behavior: Artificial Humans.

Lee, S., Taylor, M., Ahmed, S., & Moon, W. (2024). Going Beyond Political Ideology: A Computational Analysis of Civic Trust in Science. Public Understanding of Science.

Choi, M., O’Donnell, N., & Moon, W. (2024). Examining Attenuate Responses to COVID-19 Risk. Health Education & Behavior.

Choi, M., Song, B., & Moon, W. (2024). Legitimacy, Issue Management, and Gun Debates. Public Relations Review.

Choi, M., Song, B., & Moon, W. (2024). Understanding Public Support for Nonprofit Organizations During the COVID-19 Pandemic. International Journal of Strategic Communication.

Lee, S., Moon, W., Lee, J., & Sundar, S. S. (2023). When the Machine Learns from Users, is it Helping or Snooping?. Computers in Human Behavior, 138.

Chung, M., Moon, W., & Jones-Jang, M. (2023). AI as an Apolitical Referee: Using Alternative Sources to Decrease Partisan Biases in the Processing of Fact-Checking Messages. Digital Journalism.

Moon, W., & Lee, S. (2023). Who Seeks and Shares Misinformation about Politicians? Focusing on the Roles of Party- and Politician-Level Social Identities. Journal of Information Science. DOI: 10.1177/01655515231205482

Lee, S., Oh, J., & Moon, W. (2022). Adopting Voice Assistants in Online Shopping: Examining the Role of Social Presence, Performance Risk, and Machine Heuristic. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction.

Moon, W., Chung, M., & Jones-Jang, M. S. (2022). How can we fight partisan biases in the COVID-19 pandemic? AI source labels on fact-checking messages reduce motivated reasoning. Mass Communication & Society.

Moon, W., & Kahlor, L. (2022). Nanoscientists’ perceptions of serving as ethical leaders within their organization: Implications from ethical leadership for responsible innovation. Journal of Responsible Innovation.

Lim, H., Ciszek, E., & Moon, W. (2022). Perceived Organizational Authenticity in LGBTQ Communication: The scale development and initial empirical findings. Journal of Communication Management, 26(2).

Moon, W., Kahlor, L., Yang, J., & Lim, H. (2022). Political risks and information avoidance. Journal of Risk Research.

Lee, S., & Moon, W. (2021). New public segmentation for political public relations using political fandom: Understanding relationships between individual politicians and fans. Public Relations Review, 47(4).

Wang, W., Kahlor, L., Moon, W., & Olson, H. (2021). Person, place or thing: Individual, community and risk information seeking. Science Communication, 43(3), 307-335.

Moon, W., Atkinson, L., Kahlor, L., Yun, C., & Son, H. (2021). U.S. political partisanship and COVID-19: Risk information seeking and prevention behaviors to the health communication. Health Communication, 37(13), 1671-1681.

Copple, J., Bennett, N., Dudo, A., Moon, W., Newman, T., Besley, J., Leavey, N., Lindenfeld, L., & Volpe, C. (2020). Contribution of training on scientists’ public engagement intentions: A test of indirect effects using parallel multiple mediation. Science Communication, 42(4), 508-537.

Jang, S., Hart, P., Feldman, L., & Moon, W. (2020). Diversifying or reinforcing science communication? Examining the flow of frame contagion across media platforms. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 97(1), 98-117.

Moon, W., Kahlor, L., & Olson, H. (2020). Understanding public support for carbon capture and storage policy: The roles of social capital, stakeholder perceptions, and perceived risk/benefit of technology. Energy Policy, 139.

Li, J., Kim, J., Overton, H., Bhalla, N., Choi, M., Zhang, N., & Moon, W. (2019). What shapes environmental responsibility perceptions? Measuring value orientations as a predictor of situational motivations and communicative action. International Journal of Strategic Communication, 13(3), 214-232.

Lee, S., & Moon, W. (2017). Social media use and political election campaign: A meta-analysis of current trend research. Journal of Social Sciences, 10(1), 143-168.

Lee, S., & Moon, W. (2017). Videostyle of televised political advertising in Korean presidential elections. Korea Observer, 48(3), 425-451.

Lee, S., & Moon, W. (2016). The effect of political advertising on voter: A meta-analytic assessment. Korean Journal of Advertising and Public Relations, 18(2), 182-212.

Lee, S., Song, M., Moon, W., & Shin, M. (2016). The effects of native advertising on readers' recognition, attitude, and sharing intention. Advertising Research, 111, 68-100.

Lee, S., Moon, W., Song, M., & Shin, M. (2015). A study on the consumer-oriented image compositions for providing information in TV home shopping. Journal of Consumer Policy Studies, 46(1), 1-28.

Kim, E., Jung, S., & Moon, W. (2015). SNS, SNS network type, and political participation: Focusing on comparison of SNS network type (Twitter and Facebook). Social Science Studies, 39(1), 175-200.

Moon, W., & Lee, S. (2015). The influence of social media on political participation: The meta-analysis of current research in Korea. Korean Journal of Journalism and Communication Studies, 59(4), 133-162.

Moon, W., & Kim, E. (2014). The effects of social media service quality of political information on political participation of young voters: Focusing on the relationship between political use of social media and political efficacy. Korean Journal of Journalism and Communication Studies, 58(3), 145-172.

Lee, S., Song, M., Moon, W., & Shin, M. (2014). The influence of PPL’s expression type and audience’s characteristics on advertising effects. Journal of Broadcasting and Telecommunications Research, 87, 75-106.

Moon, W., & Kim, H. (2014). Voter responses to SNS election campaigns of women political candidates: Focusing on the reflection of sex-role stereotypes. Korean Journal of Journalism and Communication Studies, 58(6), 302-328.

Lee, S., & Moon, W. (2013). A study on the SNS-based crisis management communication strategies of political campaign: Focusing on the 18th presidential election in Korea. Election Research, 4, 117-140.

Book Chapters

Lim, S. H., Moon, W., & Ciszek, E. (2023). Listening to historically marginalized publics: A conceptualization of perceived organizational listening in LGBTQ advocacy. In Organizational Listening: Building Theory and Practice for Strategic Communication. Routledge.

Bennett, N., Moon, W., Dudo, A., & Besley, J. (2022). Comparing the literature of science, risk, and environmental communication. In The Handbook of International Trends in Environmental Communication. Routledge.

Moon, W. (2022). Understanding of human-artificial intelligence relationships from humanities and sociology perspectives: How human societies accept AI as social agents. In Strategies for Advertising and Public Relations in the Era of AI & Metaverse applying Humanities and Sociology. Paju, KR: Hanul.

Bowen, S., Moon, W., & Kim, J. K. (2017). Ethics in financial communication and investor relations: Stakeholder expectations, corporate social responsibility, and principle-based analyses. In The Handbook of Financial Communication and Investor Relations (pp. 71-85). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

Research

Specialization

AI; AI Ethics; Science Communication; Public Understanding of Science; Responsible Innovation; Information Process; Science Trust

Grants

Korean Foundation for International Cultural Exchange, Virtual influencers for promoting k-contents, Moon, W., & Lee, J., 2023-2024, $1,600.

ARTHUR W. PAGE CTR FOR INTEG IN PUB COMM, Organizational Communication and Education for Ethical Use of Digital Analytics, Moon, W. (PI), & Lee, S. (Co-PI), 2023-2024, $4,500.

UF CJC, Psychology of online behavioral advertising: the roles of transparency cues in consumers’ reaction to web-based automated advertisements, Moon, W., 2023, $1,000.

Kangwon National University, Factors of decisions in health issues: pro-health behaviors in smoking and COVID-19, Kim, H. (PI), & Moon, W., 2022-2023, $8,000.