Are you passing along something true or false? Dissemination of social media messages about genetically modified organisms

2020 ◽  
pp. 096366252096674
Author(s):  
Qian Xu ◽  
Yunya Song ◽  
Nan Yu ◽  
Shi Chen
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Network Analysis ◽  
Structural Stability ◽  
Network Structure ◽  
Genetically Modified Organisms ◽  
Genetically Modified ◽  
Network Density ◽  
Media Messages ◽  
Practical Implications

Using network analysis, this study investigates how information veracity and account verification influence the dissemination of information in the context of discourse about genetically modified organisms on social media. We discovered that misinformation and true information about genetically modified organisms demonstrated different dissemination patterns on social media. In general, the dissemination networks of misinformation about genetically modified organisms were found to have higher structural stability than those of true information about genetically modified organisms, as shown by the denser network structure with fewer distinct subgroups residing within the dissemination networks. More importantly, unverified account status significantly boosted the dissemination of misinformation by increasing network density. In addition, we found that the posts about genetically modified organisms from unverified accounts received more reposts and had more layers of information relay than those from the verified accounts. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings on combating misinformation are discussed in the article.

INFORMATION EXCHANGES OF SOCIAL MEDIA EVANGELISTS DURING FLOOD: A SOCIAL NETWORK ANALYSIS

2016 ◽  
Vol 78 (9-3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdus-samad Temitope Olanrewaju ◽  
Rahayu Ahmad ◽  
Kamarul Faizal Hashim
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Social Network Analysis ◽  
Network Analysis ◽  
Network Structure ◽  
Information Dissemination ◽  
Network Structures ◽  
Analysis Technique ◽  
Types Of Information ◽  
Information Brokers

Information dissemination during disaster is very crucial, but inherits several complexities associated with the dynamic characteristics of the disaster. Social media evangelists (activists) play an important role in disseminating critical updates at on-site locations. However, there is limited understanding on the network structure formed and its evolution and the types of information shared. To address these questions, this study employs Social Network Analysis technique on a dataset containing 157 social media posts from an influential civilian fan page during Malaysia’s flood. The finding demonstrates three different network structures emerged during the flood period. The network structure evolves depending on the current state of the flood, the amount of information available and the need of information. Through content analysis, there were seven types of information exchanges discovered. These information exchanges evolved as the scale and magnitude of flood changes. In conclusion, this study shows the emergence of different network structures, density and identification of influential information brokers among civilians that use social media during disaster. Despite the low number of influential information brokers, they successfully manage their specific cluster in conveying information about the disaster and most importantly coordinating the rescue mission.

scholarly journals Educated Millennials and Credence Attributes of Food Products with Genetically Modified Organisms: Knowledge, Trust and Social Media

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (20) ◽  
pp. 8534 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlo Russo ◽  
Mariarosaria Simeone ◽  
Maria Angela Perito
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Scientific Knowledge ◽  
Genetically Modified Organisms ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Genetically Modified ◽  
Food Products ◽  
Health Claims ◽  
Credence Attributes ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
Information Providers

In this paper, we investigated educated millennials’ evaluation of credence attributes in food products containing genetically modified organisms (GMO products). Our goal is to assess whether beliefs about GMO products are determined by scientific knowledge alone or if they are affected by other factors such as trust in information providers and use of social media. The focus on millennials is motivated by the increasing relevance of this social group in the public debate and by their extensive use of social media. We surveyed a sample of 215 Italian college students, confronting them with questions about safety, environmental impact and ethical issues in GMO product consumption. Using an ordered probit regression model, we found that educated millennials build their beliefs using a mix of scientific knowledge and trust in information providers. The role of the two drivers depended on the issue considered. Scientific knowledge drove beliefs in health claims, while trust in information providers was a driving factor in almost all claims. After controlling for trust effects, we did not find evidence of impact of confidence in the reliability of traditional and social media on beliefs. This result contradicts previous literature.

scholarly journals Viral misinformation and echo chambers: the diffusion of rumors about genetically modified organisms on social media

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 1547-1564
Author(s):  
Xiaohui Wang ◽  
Yunya Song
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Genetically Modified Organisms ◽  
Genetically Modified ◽  
Content Type ◽  
User Attitudes ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Echo Chamber ◽  
Fact Checking ◽  
Chamber Effect

PurposeThe spread of rumors on social media has caused increasing concerns about an under-informed or even misinformed public when it comes to scientific issues. However, researchers have rarely investigated their diffusion in non-western contexts. This study aims to systematically examine the content and network structure of rumor-related discussions around genetically modified organisms (GMOs) on Chinese social media.Design/methodology/approachThis study identified 21,837 rumor-related posts of GMOs on Weibo, one of China's most popular social media platforms. An approach combining social network analysis and content analysis was employed to classify user attitudes toward rumors, measure the level of homophily of their attitudes and examine the nature of their interactions.FindingsThough a certain level of homophily existed in the interaction networks, referring to the observed echo chamber effect, Weibo also served as a public forum for GMO discussions in which cross-cutting ties between communities existed. A considerable amount of interactions emerged between the pro- and anti-GMO camps, and most of them involved providing or requesting information, which could mitigate the likelihood of opinion polarization. Moreover, this study revealed the declining role of traditional opinion leaders and pointed toward the need for alternative strategies for efficient fact-checking.Originality/valueIn general, the findings of this study suggested that microblogging platforms such as Weibo can function as public forums for discussing GMOs that expose users to ideologically cross-cutting viewpoints. This study stands to provide important insights into the viral processes of scientific rumors on social media.

scholarly journals GMO/GMF on Social Media in China: Jagged Landscape of Information Seeking and Sharing Behavior through a Valence View

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (23) ◽  
pp. 4838
Author(s):  
Rongting Zhou ◽  
Dong Wang ◽  
Ahmad Nabeel Siddiquei ◽  
Muhammad Azfar Anwar ◽  
Ali Hammad ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Genetically Modified Organisms ◽  
Genetically Modified ◽  
Perceived Usefulness ◽  
Communication Strategy ◽  
Information Support ◽  
Chinese Society ◽  
Perceived Benefits ◽  
And Behaviors ◽  
Share Information

The study examines the critical factors affecting Chinese social media (SM) users’ intentions and behavior to seek and share information on genetically modified organisms/ genetically modified food (GMO/GMF). The proposed framework was conceptualized through benefit-risk analysis and subsequently mapped SM users’ perceived benefits and risks to seeks and share information using Kurt Lewin’s valence view. Quantitative data was collected using survey questionnaires administered from 583 SM users. The results of the path analysis demonstrated two key findings related to SM users’ perceived benefits and risks to seek and share information on GMO/GMF. Among risks, the psychological risk is the strongest predictor of perceived risk to use SM for GMO/GMF, which consequently determines the intentions and behaviors to share information about GMO/GMF on SM in People’s Republic of China. Among benefits, the results showed that perceived usefulness, creditability of GMO/GMF information, and information support are positively related to perceived benefits to use SM for GMO/GMF, which subsequently, predicts the intentions and behaviors to seek information about GMO/GMF on SM. This study suggests scholars and practitioners explore and utilize the efficient communication strategy to fulfill the potential of the SM to increase GMO/GMF acceptance in Chinese society.

User Engagement in Public Discourse on Genetically Modified Organisms: The Role of Opinion Leaders on Social Media

2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (6) ◽  
pp. 691-717 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qian Xu ◽  
Nan Yu ◽  
Yunya Song
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Genetically Modified Organisms ◽  
Genetically Modified ◽  
Message Framing ◽  
Opinion Leaders ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
User Engagement ◽  
The Public

This study adopted a quantitative content analysis to examine how source attributes of opinion leaders and their message framing influenced user engagement in the public discourse of genetically modified organism (GMO) on Chinese social media. The findings showed that different source attributes and message frames used by opinion leaders varied in their respective influences on three dimensions of user engagement—reposts, comments, and likes. The attribute of account verification only predicted surface-level engagement (i.e., liking), whereas account type significantly influenced in-depth engagement (i.e., reposting and commenting). The fact, opportunity, pro-GMO, and international frames positively predicted user engagement.

Should Scientists Talk About GMOs Nicely? Exploring the Effects of Communication Styles, Source Expertise, and Preexisting Attitude

2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 267-290 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shupei Yuan ◽  
Wenjuan Ma ◽  
John C. Besley
Keyword(s):  
Science Communication ◽  
Genetically Modified Organisms ◽  
Genetically Modified ◽  
Communication Style ◽  
Communication Styles ◽  
Expectancy Violation ◽  
Source Expertise ◽  
Subject Experiment ◽  
Significant Mediator ◽  
Practical Implications

The present study investigated the effects of communication styles, source expertise, and audiences’ preexisting attitudes in the contexts of the debate regarding genetically modified organisms. A between-subject experiment ( N = 416) was conducted manipulating communication styles (aggressive vs. polite) and the expertise of the communicator (scientist vs. nonscientist) in blog articles. The results showed significant effects of communicator expertise and individuals’ preexisting attitudes on writer likability and message quality, depending on the communication style used. Expectancy violation was found as a significant mediator that explains the differences. These findings provided a plausible explanation for the way in which communication styles work in science communication contexts and offered practical implications for science communicators to communicate more strategically.

The state of GMOs on social media

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Christopher D. Wirz ◽  
Emily L. Howell ◽  
Dominique Brossard ◽  
Michael A. Xenos ◽  
Dietram A. Scheufele
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Political Ideology ◽  
Genetically Modified Organisms ◽  
Genetically Modified ◽  
News Coverage ◽  
State Level ◽  
The State ◽  
Rural And Urban ◽  
Education Levels ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract This study analyzes the relationship between state-level variables and Twitter discourse on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Using geographically identified tweets related to GMOs, we examined how the sentiments expressed about GMOs related to education levels, news coverage, proportion of rural and urban counties, state-level political ideology, amount of GMO-related legislation introduced, and agricultural dependence of each U.S. state. State-level characteristics predominantly did not predict the sentiment of the discourse. Instead, the topics of tweets predicted the majority of variance in tweet sentiment at the state level. The topics that tweets within a state focused on were related to state-level characteristics in some cases.

scholarly journals Attacking science on social media: How user comments affect perceived trustworthiness and credibility

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 230-247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lukas Gierth ◽  
Rainer Bromme
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Research Methods ◽  
Genetically Modified Organisms ◽  
Potential Problem ◽  
Genetically Modified ◽  
User Comments ◽  
Scientific Claims ◽  
Prior Attitudes

The science on controversial topics is often heatedly discussed on social media, a potential problem for social-media-based science communicators. Therefore, two exploratory studies were performed to investigate the effects of science-critical user comments attacking Facebook posts containing scientific claims. The claims were about one of four controversial topics (homeopathy, genetically modified organisms, refugee crime, and childhood vaccinations). The user comments attacked the claims based on the thematic complexity, the employed research methods, the expertise, or the motivations of the researchers. The results reveal that prior attitudes determine judgments about the user comments, the attacked claims, and the source of the claim. After controlling for attitude, people agree most with thematic complexity comments, but the comments differ in their effect on perceived claim credibility only when the comments are made by experts. In addition, comments attacking researchers’ motivations were more effective in lowering perceived integrity while scientists’ perceived expertise remained unaffected.

Assessing Risk Communication in Social Media for Crisis Prevention: A Social Network Analysis of Microblog

2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jia Shi ◽  
Naim Kapucu ◽  
Zhengwei Zhu ◽  
Xuesong Guo ◽  
Brittany Haupt
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Social Network Analysis ◽  
Risk Perception ◽  
Network Analysis ◽  
Risk Communication ◽  
Crisis Management ◽  
Network Structure ◽  
Information Resources ◽  
Crisis Prevention

AbstractThis article examines risk communication and perception differences via social media in the context of crisis management. Based on data from the Shifang Protest, this study constructed a relational matrix identifying how critical actors facilitated risk communication and interactions. In addition, the article identified measures of network structure and risk perception differences with Social Network Analysis (i.e. density, centralization, structure holes and subgroups) using UCINET software program along visual structures with NetDraw. Key findings of this study include: a) ranked actors controlled most of the information resources and threat diffusion; b) the level of interaction between government users and others users is extremely low; and c) divergence occurred between personal (informal) and official (formal) nodes in the context of risk perception.

Examining User Participation and Network Structure via an Analysis of a Twitter-Supported Conference Backchannel

2018 ◽  
Vol 57 (5) ◽  
pp. 1160-1185
Author(s):  
Quan Xie ◽  
Tian Luo
Keyword(s):  
Communication Network ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Network Analysis ◽  
Learning Community ◽  
Opinion Leader ◽  
User Participation ◽  
Network Density ◽  
Key Variables ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Significant Factors

This study aimed to examine the scholarly community’s authentic use of Twitter at a professional conference, #ICIS2016, and to investigate how Twitter supports the conference learning community by examining users’ levels of participation in Twitter-enabled conference backchannels and the overall structure of this communication network. We also explored how individuals can better engage in the Twitter-based conference community via revealing the primary characteristics of the central users within the network and studying the significant factors that impact the central status of users. Through an in-depth social network analysis and statistical path analysis, our data revealed users’ varying levels of participation and a relatively low network density, which may suggest participants’ novelty of using Twitter as a conference backchannel. The data further indicated three types of central users: interaction initiator, opinion leader, and conversation bridge, as well as unveiling the relationships among several key variables impacting the central status of a user. Discussion and practical implications are provided.

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