From the eyes of censorship supporters: Chinese attitudes regarding two types of online censorship

Abstract

ABSTRACT The Chinese government has developed a complicated online censorship regime targeting various media with diversified techniques. Prior literature has argued that the censorship system enjoys general support in China. However, how Chinese people perceive heterogeneous online censorship mechanisms and the corresponding censored objects remains unclear. This study focused on two different online censorship mechanisms in China: the Great Fire Wall and citizen reporting. Using survey data collected in China in 2019, we established two path models to investigate the relationships between perceived media effects, attitudes toward online censorship, desire for censored information, and media being surveilled by each censorship mechanism. Our findings have important implications for understanding the complexity and nuances in censorship-related attitudes in China.