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Large-scale quantitative evidence of media impact on public opinion toward China

Political Science

Large-scale quantitative evidence of media impact on public opinion toward China

J. Huang, G. G. Cook, et al.

This study, conducted by Junming Huang, Gavin G. Cook, and Yu Xie, delves into the significant role of mass media, specifically The New York Times, in shaping public opinion about China. Analyzing nearly 268,000 articles, the research reveals a striking correlation: NYT reporting accounts for 54% of the variance in American public perception of China the following year.

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Playback language: English
Abstract
This study investigates the influence of mass media on public opinion regarding China. Utilizing BERT, a deep neural network-based natural language processing model, the researchers analyzed 267,907 China-related articles from The New York Times (1970-present). Comparing this analysis with longitudinal data from 101 cross-sectional surveys of American public opinion on China, the study reveals that NYT reporting in a given year explains 54% of the variance in American public opinion on China the following year. This finding supports the link between media and public opinion formation concerning foreign countries.
Publisher
Humanities and Social Sciences Communications
Published On
Jul 26, 2021
Authors
Junming Huang, Gavin G. Cook, Yu Xie
Tags
mass media
public opinion
China
New York Times
BERT
natural language processing
foreign countries
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