School of International Studies, Renmin University of China, Beijing, China.
PLoS One. 2023 Sep 20;18(9):e0291091. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0291091. eCollection 2023.
Citizens' attitudes towards foreign countries are considered an important factor in making foreign policy. This also holds in China, where public opinion is given significant weight in foreign policy-making. On the other hand, the media serves as a gateway for citizens to access the outside world, shaping their attitudes towards foreign countries. The rise of the Internet since the mid-2000s has brought about radical changes in the media landscape. The Internet, characterized by its loose control and the strong patriotic sentiment among netizens, is viewed as a breeding ground for popular nationalism. Scholars and analysts worry that the prevalence of online popular nationalism may lead to xenophobia and hostility towards Western countries portrayed as out-group others in this narrative. This study aims to investigate the impact of popular nationalism narratives flooding the Internet on citizens' attitudes, and the differential influence of the Internet compared to traditional mass media. Furthermore, this study also examines the dynamics of citizens' foreign attitudes and the role of media channels in shaping these attitudes. Through a quantitative analysis based on the data collected in 2010 and 2020, the study challenges concerns about xenophobic sentiments resulting from online nationalism, finding them to be unnecessary. Additionally, this study also discovers that, compared to traditional mass media, the influence of the Internet on attitude is more open to change in the international environment.
公民对外国的态度被认为是制定外交政策的一个重要因素。这在中国也是如此，公众意见在外交决策中被赋予了重要的权重。另一方面，媒体是公民了解外部世界的渠道，塑造着他们对外国的态度。自 21 世纪中期以来，互联网的兴起给媒体格局带来了根本性的变化。互联网的特点是控制松散，以及网民强烈的爱国主义情绪，被视为民粹主义的温床。学者和分析人士担心，互联网上流行的民粹主义叙事可能会导致对西方的仇外心理和敌意，在这种叙事中，西方国家被描绘成外部群体。本研究旨在调查互联网上民粹主义叙事泛滥对公民态度的影响，以及与传统大众媒体相比，互联网的差异化影响。此外，本研究还考察了公民对外态度的动态变化，以及媒体渠道在塑造这些态度方面的作用。通过基于 2010 年和 2020 年收集的数据进行的定量分析，本研究对源于网络民族主义的仇外情绪表示质疑，认为这些情绪是不必要的。此外，本研究还发现，与传统大众媒体相比，互联网对态度的影响在国际环境变化方面更具开放性。
