Timeline Summarization for Event-Related Discussions on a Chinese Social Media Platform

This paper studies conspiracy and debunking narratives about the origins of COVID-19 on a major Chinese social media platform, Weibo, from January to April 2020. Popular conspiracies about COVID-19 on Weibo, including that the virus is human-synthesized or a bioweapon, differ substan-tially from those in the United States. They attribute more responsibility to the United States than to China, especially following Sino-U.S. confrontations. Compared to conspiracy posts, debunking posts are associated with lower user participation but higher mobilization. Debunking narratives can be more engaging when they come from women and influencers and cite scientists. Our find-ings suggest that conspiracy narratives can carry highly cultural and political orientations. Correc-tion efforts should consider political motives and identify important stakeholders to reconstruct international dialogues toward intercultural understanding.

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War Metaphors in Chinese Digital Media Coverage of COVID-19

Networking Knowledge: Journal of the MeCCSA Postgraduate Network ◽

10.31165/nk.2021.141.608 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (1) ◽

pp. 9-27

Author(s):

Zheng Yang

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Network Analysis ◽

Digital Media ◽

Media Coverage ◽

Semantic Network ◽

Chinese People ◽

Semantic Network Analysis ◽

Social Media Platform ◽

Media Platform ◽

Chinese Social Media

War metaphors have been found to be the most frequently used metaphors for conceptualizing diseases, epidemic and medicine. During the COVID-19 epidemic, war metaphors have been found to be widely used in both online and offline coverage. This study mainly focuses on how war metaphors were used in Chinese social media coverage about the COVID-19 epidemic. Using the method of semantic network analysis and the account of The People’s Daily on the Chinese social media platform Weibo as an example, the findings show that war metaphors are widely used in the digital coverage of COVID-19. Compared with defensive metaphors and war process metaphors, offensive war metaphors are appearing much more frequently in digital coverage, and often with the use of national collective subjects. These two characteristics highlight how digital coverage uses militarized metaphors to mobilize and inspire enthusiasm among the Chinese people, and to strengthen the Chinese government’s control in dealing with the COVID-19 epidemic.

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Countering COVID-19-related anti-Chinese racism with translanguaged swearing on social media

Multilingua ◽

10.1515/multi-2020-0093 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 39 (5) ◽

pp. 607-616 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Hongqiang Zhu

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

The United States ◽

Cross Cultural ◽

Media Communication ◽

Social Media Platform ◽

Cross Cultural Communication ◽

Media Platform ◽

Verbal Repetition ◽

Social Media Communication ◽

Chinese Social Media

AbstractThe outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has generated a spectacular rise in social media communication and an unprecedented avalanche of global conversation. This paper traces the emergence of the racist term “Chinese virus” used by the President of the United States, Donald Trump, on the Western social media platform Twitter and its reception and recontextualization on Chinese social media. Creative bilingual responses fusing English and Chinese resulted in a popular searchable meme “#用中式英语跨文化交流#” (“#Chinglish used for cross-cultural communication#”), on Weibo, a Chinese social media platform. Such linguistic creativity involves a variation of swears to mock and condemn the racist phrase. Formally, linguistic practices such as self-coinage, transliteration, verbal repetition, and acronyms can be observed. Functionally, the recontexualizations evidence a defensive ideology linked to nationalism and modernism. Ultimately, combatting the English racist term “Chinese virus” with a creative mixture of English and Chinese demonstrates how English has become ever more decentered during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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An emergent algorithmic culture: The data-ization of online fandom in China

International Journal of Cultural Studies ◽

10.1177/1367877920908269 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 23 (4) ◽

pp. 475-492 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Yiyi Yin

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Object Relations ◽

Fan Culture ◽

Traffic Data ◽

Social Media Platform ◽

Fan Performance ◽

Media Platform ◽

Chinese Social Media

The digitalization of fandom and fan culture has become significant topic in recent studies, yet there is a lack of examination of the nuance between specific fan performance and the affordance, infrastructure and architecture that constitute it as it is today. In this article, I examine how digital fandom involves the platform algorithm and the logic of data contribution, affectively engaging fans to participate in increased data labour. Depicting online fandom on Weibo, a massive Chinese social media platform, I portray the data-ization of online fandom in China, arguing that the traffic data has been dematerialized as new affective object in fan–object relations, while digital fan culture has been constructed into a type of algorithmic culture.

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Personal information management on social media from the perspective of platform support: a text analysis based on the Chinese social media platform policy

Online Information Review ◽

10.1108/oir-06-2020-0249 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Wenhong Zhou ◽

Linxu Dai ◽

Yujie Zhang ◽

Chuanling Wen

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Information Management ◽

Personal Information ◽

Personal Information Management ◽

Content Type ◽

Social Media Platform ◽

The Social ◽

Social Media Platforms ◽

Media Platform ◽

Chinese Social Media

PurposeIn this study, specific measures adopted by the social media platforms in China supporting personal information management are investigated via surveys targeting such platforms. The purpose of this paper is to find out how social media platforms understand information management, and from which aspects and through what specific methods they provide support for information management, which contributes to understanding the issues and strategies associated with personal information management on social media.Design/methodology/approachThe dimensions and specific contents of the current platform support provided for information management are clearly defined by performing qualitative text analysis based on the content obtained from 11 platform policies published by five representative Chinese social media platforms.FindingsHow social media platforms support personal information management on creation, collection, utilisation, sharing, storage, protection, removal and modification is identified. By analysing the status quo of support provided by the Chinese social media platform, some issues are proposed for discussion. Improved normative management is required to address the coexistence of multivalued information and management risks. However, the user rights are limited because the platform policies tend to be more focused on the perspective of the social media platform. Furthermore, the platform policy contents regarding information management are incomplete, and the applicability of these policies should be improved.Originality/valueThis study seeks to contribute to personal information management on social media from the perspective of platform support. The perspective from the platforms as the service providers supporting information management also helps identify information management challenges and potential strategies. Furthermore, combining with the personal information management perspective, this study provides a background understanding of information management under a social collaborative framework for platforms, authorities, users and memory institutions.Peer reviewThe peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/OIR-06-2020-0249

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Information Disclosure on a Chinese Social Media Platform

Journal of Information Privacy and Security ◽

10.1080/15536548.2015.1010981 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

pp. 3-18 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Lixuan Zhang ◽

Clinton Amos ◽

Iryna Pentina

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Information Disclosure ◽

Social Media Platform ◽

Media Platform ◽

Chinese Social Media

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Sosyal medyada Suriye’li sığınmacılara yönelik algı: bir sözlük değerlendirmesi

GÖÇ DERGİSİ ◽

10.33182/gd.v4i2.596 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 4 (2) ◽

pp. 185-200 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Servet Kardeş ◽

Çağla Banko ◽

Berrin Akman

Keyword(s):

Qualitative Research ◽

Social Media ◽

Content Analysis ◽

Syrian Refugees ◽

Analysis Method ◽

Social Media Platform ◽

Content Analysis Method ◽

Negative News ◽

Media Platform ◽

Made In

Bu araştırmada sığınmacılara yönelik paylaşımların yapıldığı sosyal medyada yer alan sözlüklerden birinde sığınmacılara yönelik algıya bakılmıştır. Yöntem olarak nitel desende olan bu çalışmada, bir sosyal medya sitesinde yer alan paylaşımlar içerik analizi yoluyla derinlemesine incelenip yorumlanmıştır. Araştırmanın sonucunda sosyal medya kullanıcılarının sığınmacıları büyük bir güvensizlik ortamı ve huzursuzluk yaratan bireyler olarak gördükleri saptanmış, sığınmacılarla yaşanan deneyimlerin ve medyadaki haberlerin bu düşüncelerin oluşmasında etkisinin olduğu belirlenmiştir. Bunun yanında sosyal medya kullanıcılarının devletin sığınmacılar konusunda yanlış politika izlediğini düşündükleri ve sığınmacılar için etkili bir planlama yapılmadığını ifade ettikleri görülmüştür. Çalışmanın sonuçları doğrultusunda medyada sığınmacılar hakkında çıkan haberlerde olumsuz ve şiddet temalı haberlerin azaltılması, Suriyeli sığınmacıların durumu, sahip oldukları haklar ve topluma yansımaları hakkında doğru ve bilgilendirici kamu spotları hazırlanması ayrıca sığınmacıların topluma entegre olma sürecinin her basamağında daha planlı ve etkili bir yol izlenmesi önerilebilir.ABSTRACT IN ENGLISHPerceptions about Syrian refugees on social media: an evaluation of a social media platformIn this research, posts which are about Syrian refugees were published in a social media platform, called as “sözlük” were investigated. The research is a qualitative research. The posts in this platform are analyzed with content analysis method. According to results of analyses, social media users see Syrian refugees as people who create an insecure and a restless environment. The experiences people had with them and news have an effect on this view. In addition, social media users think that government made inappropriate policies and ineffective plans about Syrian refugees. It is suggested negative news about Syrian refugees should be decreased and government should make safer policies. In addition, adaptation of refugees to society should be made in more planned and effective way.

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Value cocreation behavior of customers and companies on the Weibo social media platform

Social Behavior and Personality An International Journal ◽

10.2224/sbp.8903 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 48 (3) ◽

pp. 1-11

Author(s):

Huiqin Zhang ◽

Hai Lan ◽

Xudong Chen

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Service Quality ◽

Customer Value ◽

Two Dimensions ◽

Customer Participation ◽

Citizenship Behavior ◽

Generation Process ◽

Social Media Platform ◽

Value Cocreation ◽

Media Platform

The Weibo social media platform in China has an important role in the value-generation process between a company and a customer. We investigated the relationship between the service quality provided on a company's Weibo page and the two dimensions of customer value cocreation behavior, namely, participation and citizenship, as well as the moderating effect of collectivism on this relationship. Participants were 354 active users of Weibo. Our findings confirmed that the service quality provided on a company's Weibo page was critical to the generation of customer value cocreation behavior. Further, collectivism moderated this relationship, with higher levels of collectivism strengthening the Weibo page service quality and customer value cocreation behavior relationship. In addition, customer citizenship behavior was positively related to customer perceptions of brand image, whereas customer participation was not. Implications for companies in the Chinese context are discussed.

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