Denise J. Roth

Political Communication · Wageningen University & Research

Denise J. Roth

PhD Candidate in Political Communication

I study how science becomes politicized in public debate — how scientific uncertainty gets used to cast doubt, shape narratives, and shift public trust, across health misinformation, populist communication, and polarization.

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Portrait of Denise J. Roth

About

Who I am, and why I have a website

I’m a PhD Candidate in Political Communication at the Strategic Communication Group at Wageningen University & Research, with a research focus on the intersection of science, media, and politics.

I studied Political Science at the University of Mannheim, where I developed a strong interest in political systems and public discourse. I then completed a Research Master’s in the Social Sciences at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, specializing in Political Communication. The interdisciplinary setup of the program let me combine perspectives from media studies, political science, and sociology.

My current research looks at how science becomes politicized in public debate — especially how actors use scientific uncertainty to cast doubt, shape narratives, or influence public trust. I’m particularly interested in health misinformation, populist communication, and polarization. Methodologically, I work with computational text analysis, surveys, and experiments.

Outside of academia, I enjoy bird watching (yes, really), experimenting with vegan recipes that don’t always work out, and lifting heavy things at the gym to balance all the time I spend thinking about misinformation, democratic erosion, and hate speech.

Research

Publications & working papers

Peer-reviewed articles, manuscripts under review, and work in progress.

Published & accepted

3
  1. 2025

    Unveiling Climate Adaptation: A Comprehensive Analysis of Agenda-Setting Dynamics in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands

    Roth, D.J., Bai, N., Biesbroek, R., Dewulf, A., Kruikemeier, S., De Leur, D., van der Velden, M.A.C.G., de Vries, E., & Vliegenthart, R.

    Science Communication
    Article ↗
  2. 2025

    Effective Ways of Casting Doubt? Examining the Different Effects of Blatant and Suggestive Disinformation

    Schrijver, L., Roth, D.J., Jans, E. G. M., Vrielink, J., & Guldemond, P.

    International Journal of Communication
    Article ↗
  3. 2025

    Populism and Polarization: A Nostalgic Narrative of 'Us' and 'Them'

    Van der Velden, M.A.C.G., López Ortega, A., Roth, D.J., & Guldemond, P.

    Government & Opposition
    Article ↗

Under review

3
  1. —

    Evidence-Informed Policymaking and the Populist Challenge: Public Attitudes Across 16 European Countries

    Roth, D.J., Schäfer, S., Kruikemeier, S., & Vliegenthart, R.

    Under review
  2. —

    Playing it Smart: Can Gamification and Alarmist Framing Improve Public Understanding of Zoonotic Diseases?

    Schäfer, S., Roth, D.J., Mede, N., Kruikemeier, S., & Vliegenthart, R.

    Under review
  3. —

    Do We All Long for the Past? Investigating Nostalgia as a Persuasive Political Rhetorical Strategy

    Van der Velden, M., López Ortega, A., Roth, D.J., & Guldemond, P.

    Under review

In preparation

4
  1. —

    Targeted Hostility: Hateful Communication in YouTube Comments Toward Journalists, Politicians, and Scientists

    Roth, D.J., De Vries, E., Schäfer, S., Kruikemeier, S., & Vliegenthart, R.

    In preparation
  2. —

    The Scientization of Politics: How Politicians Use Science Instrumentally to Depoliticize Conflict

    Roth, D.J., van der Velden, M.A.C.G., & Damstra, A.

    In preparation
  3. —

    Health Communication in Black-Oriented Media: A Computational Text Analysis of YouTube

    Roth, D.J., & Shugars, S.

    In preparation
  4. —

    Who's Asking? Auditing (Social Identity) Bias in Large Language Model Responses to Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) Information Seeking

    Alva, D., Roth, D.J., Divya, S., Téliz Martínez, S., & Zhang, Y.

    In preparation

Curriculum Vitae

The full record

Education, positions, teaching, and a complete publication list in one PDF.

Download CV (PDF)

Connect

Get in touch

Please reach out if you have questions or would like to talk about research, collaboration, or data.

denise.roth@wur.nl