Viral misinformation and echo chambers: the diffusion of rumors about genetically modified organisms on social media
- 22 June 2020
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Emerald in Internet Research
- Vol. 30 (5), 1547-1564
- https://doi.org/10.1108/intr-11-2019-0491
Abstract
The 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. This 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. Though 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. In 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.Keywords
This publication has 48 references indexed in Scilit:
- Stumbling upon news on the Internet: Effects of incidental news exposure and relative entertainment use on political engagementComputers in Human Behavior, 2013
- The Anatomy of a Scientific RumorScientific Reports, 2013
- From echo chamber to persuasive device? Rethinking the role of the Internet in campaignsNew Media & Society, 2012
- Chinese newspaper coverage of genetically modified organismsBMC Public Health, 2012
- Encountering “Difference” in the Contemporary Public Sphere: The Contribution of the Internet to the Heterogeneity of Political Discussion NetworksJournal of Communication, 2010
- A New Era of Minimal Effects? A Response to Bennett and IyengarJournal of Communication, 2010
- Distinguishing influence-based contagion from homophily-driven diffusion in dynamic networksProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2009
- Social Networks that Matter: Twitter Under the MicroscopeSSRN Electronic Journal, 2008
- Rumor, Trust and Civil Society: Collective Memory and Cultures of JudgmentDiogenes, 2007
- Worlds Apart? The Reception of Genetically Modified Foods in Europe and the U.S.Science, 1999