Image of China Science on International Social Media Platform—Based on Data from Twitter

Authors

Zheng YANG, School of Communication, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, ChinaFollow
Hepeng JIA, School of Communication, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
Yanli WANG, China Research Institute for Science Popularization, Beijing 100080, China
Ting WANG, China Research Institute for Science Popularization, Beijing 100080, ChinaFollow

Keywords

national science image, international communication, social media platform, public opinion analysis, digital methods

Document Type

S & T and Society

Abstract

With the increasingly intensified international competition in science and technology and rapidly development of science and technology in China, the national science image has increasingly become an important part of the whole national image that cannot be ignored. Through the analysis of discussions on Chinese science-related topics on Twitter, the international social media platform, it is found that the Western public's current attention to Chinese science-related topics is not high, while it continues to grow. The discussions around Chinese science-related topics are dominated by a small number of major scientific events, and are obviously guided and controlled by the power of mainstream Western news media and political discourse, and the main cognition is biased towards the negative. Moreover, the construction of such negative image of Chinese science has been involved in the political discourse and international relations to a certain extent, characterized by concerns about reports of negative Chinese tech news and conspiracy theories. The positive image of Chinese science is more characterized by the appreciation of China's breakthrough scientific achievements and scientists who have won international scientific awards and the special attention to Chinese science fiction in the context of "depoliticization". In this regard, to enhance China's international science image, it is necessary to formulate targeted international science and technology communication strategies based on paying attention to the social media platform as a public opinion field and combining the research results.

First page

145

Last Page

153

Language

Chinese

Publisher

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences

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Recommended Citation

YANG, Zheng; JIA, Hepeng; WANG, Yanli; and WANG, Ting (2023) "Image of China Science on International Social Media Platform—Based on Data from Twitter," Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version): Vol. 38 : Iss. 1 , Article 14.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.16418/j.issn.1000-3045.20220316001
Available at: https://bulletinofcas.researchcommons.org/journal/vol38/iss1/14