Strategies and effectiveness of the Chinese government debunking COVID-19 rumors on Sina Weibo: evaluating from emotions

IF 1.6 2区文学 Q2 COMMUNICATION

Journal of Applied Communication Research Pub Date : 2022-11-02 DOI:10.1080/00909882.2022.2144409

Hao Gao, Difan Guo, Huimin Yin, Jing Wu, Zijia Cao, Lina Li

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引用次数: 1

Abstract

ABSTRACT The Chinese government refuted rumors on social media for infodemic management when COVID-19 outbroke. This study selected 80 government accounts on Sina Weibo and collected 501 valid anti-rumor posts with comments from 18 January to 29 February 2020. This paper evaluated the effectiveness of rumor debunking from the public emotions reflected in the comments. This study also examined the influence of different anti-rumor strategies, such as fact-checking, rumor response modes, and presentation forms, on the effectiveness of rumor debunking. The findings revealed that fact-checking, combined response mode and text presentation could improve the effectiveness of rumor debunking to some extent. Further analysis of the public emotions indicated a correlation between the trust in government and the effectiveness of rumor debunking. These findings suggested building a multiparticipant response mechanism with medical institutions and media to mitigate the COVID-19 infodemic through targeted strategies, thus further increasing the government's credibility via information governance.

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中国政府在新浪微博上辟谣的策略与效果:从情绪评价

新冠肺炎疫情发生后，中国政府对社交媒体上的谣言进行辟谣，进行信息管理。本研究选取了80个新浪微博政府账号，收集了2020年1月18日至2月29日期间501条有效的辟谣评论。本文从评论中反映的公众情绪来评价辟谣的有效性。本研究还考察了不同的辟谣策略(如事实核查、谣言回应方式和陈述形式)对辟谣效果的影响。研究发现，事实核查、联合回应方式和文本呈现能在一定程度上提高辟谣效果。对公众情绪的进一步分析表明，对政府的信任与辟谣的有效性之间存在相关性。建议建立医疗机构和媒体多方参与的应对机制，通过有针对性的策略缓解疫情信息，从而通过信息治理进一步提高政府公信力。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Journal of Applied Communication Research COMMUNICATION-

CiteScore

4.00

自引率

8.70%

发文量

期刊介绍： The Journal of Applied Communication Research publishes original scholarship that addresses or challenges the relation between theory and practice in understanding communication in applied contexts. All theoretical and methodological approaches are welcome, as are all contextual areas. Original research studies should apply existing theory and research to practical solutions, problems, and practices should illuminate how embodied activities inform and reform existing theory or should contribute to theory development. Research articles should offer critical summaries of theory or research and demonstrate ways in which the critique can be used to explain, improve or understand communication practices or process in a specific context.