Email this article The impact of social media on the perception of news in Russia and China
- Authors: Zhao Z.1
-
Affiliations:
- Langfang New Century Middle School, China
- Issue: No 2 (2025)
- Pages: 129-135
- Section: Articles
- URL: https://journals.rcsi.science/2541-8459/article/view/371181
- ID: 371181
Cite item
Abstract
this study analyzes the impact of social media on the perception of news in Russia and China. The work uses an integrated approach combining quantitative and qualitative research methods. The empirical base consisted of data from online surveys of social network users (n=2,500) and content analysis of news publications (n=10,000) for the period from 2018 to 2023. The results show that social networks play a key role in shaping the news agenda, while in Russia the degree of trust in social media news is higher than in China (t=6.72, p<0.01). It has been revealed that content personalization algorithms contribute to the emergence of "information bubbles" and the polarization of opinions (r=0.68, p<0.01). In China, this effect is mitigated by stricter government control over the Internet environment (?2=9.45, p<0.05). The study contributes to understanding the mechanisms of the influence of social networks on public consciousness in different socio-cultural contexts outlines the prospects for further study of this issue.
References
- Allcott H., Gentzkow M. Social media and fake news in the 2016 election // Journal of Economic Perspectives. 2017. Vol. 31. No 2. P. 211 – 236.
- Bennett W.L., Livingston S. The disinformation order: Disruptive communication and the decline of democratic institutions // European Journal of Communication. 2018. Vol. 33. No 2. P. 122 – 139.
- Bradshaw S., Howard P.N. Challenging truth and trust: A global inventory of organized social media manipulation // Computational Propaganda Research Project. 2018. No?1.
- Creemers R. Cyber China: Upgrading propaganda, public opinion work and social management for the twenty-first century // Journal of Contemporary China. 2017. Vol. 26. No 103. P. 85 – 100.
- Gunther R., Beck P.A., Nisbet E.C. "Fake news" and the defection of 2012 Obama voters in the 2016 presidential election // Electoral Studies. 2019. Vol. 61. Article 102030.
- Guo L., Vargo C. "Fake News" and emerging online media ecosystem: An integrated intermedia agenda-setting analysis of the 2016 US presidential election // Communication Research. 2020. Vol. 47. No 2. P. 178 – 200.
- Han R. Contesting cyberspace in China: Online expression and authoritarian resilience. New York: Columbia University Press, 2018.
- King G., Pan J., Roberts M.E. How the Chinese government fabricates social media posts for strategic distraction, not engaged argument // American Political Science Review. 2017. Vol.?111. No 3. P. 484 – 501.
- Mackinnon R. China's "networked authoritarianism" // Journal of Democracy. 2011. Vol. 22. No 2. P. 32 – 46.
- Marwick A., Lewis R. Media manipulation and disinformation online. New York: Data & Society Research Institute, 2017.
- Ognyanova K., Lazer D., Robertson R.E., Wilson C. Misinformation in action: Fake news exposure is linked to lower trust in media, higher trust in government when your side is in power // Harvard Kennedy School Misinformation Review. 2020. Vol. 1. No?4.
- Stockmann D., Luo T. Which social media facilitate online public opinion in China? // Problems of Post-Communism. 2017. Vol. 64. No 3-4. P. 189 – 202.
- Tucker J.A., Guess A., Barber? P., Vaccari C., Siegel A., Sanovich S. и др. Social media, political polarization, and political disinformation: A review of the scientific literature // Political Communication. 2018. Vol. 35. No?4. P. 589 – 611.
- Xiao Q. The road to digital unfreedom: President Xi's surveillance state // Journal of Democracy. 2019. Vol. 30. No 1. P.?53 – 67.
- Zhang J., Lin W.Y. Tracing the Path of a Thousand Miles: The Construction and Influence of "Russia's Information Manipulation" by the American Think Tanks // Global Media and China. 2019. Vol. 4. No 4. P. 433 – 452.
Supplementary files
