Countering online ‘regional blackening': interventions for province-targeted hate speech in the Chinese digital sphere

ABSTRACT

While political communication scholars usually debate whether the internet and social media are democratizing forces for China, scarce attention has been given to the role of digital media in mediating and amplifying old and new forms of prejudice, discrimination, abuse and hate in China’s cyberspace. We focus on a context-specific stereotype and insult that attacks people based on their place of domicile – ‘regional blackening’. Based on social identity theory, this study examines the effectiveness of three audience-focused countermeasures (inducing empathy, constructing collective national identity, and increasing intergroup contact) in mitigating the negative influences of hate narratives and in promoting online civic intervention, and investigates the moderating role of multiculturalism.

KEYWORDS:

• Hate speech
• social identity perspective
• China
• regional discrimination
• online civic intervention

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 The distribution of gender and age from the survey company’s sample mirrored the demographic features of Chinese general net users (according to the latest annual report released by China Internet Network Information Center, CNNIC).

2 Weibo is one of the most popular social media platforms in China. Since launch in 2009, Weibo has seen explosive growth in terms of registered users and market value. Scholars focusing on China’s political communication often view Weibo as a virtual public sphere, select it as a research platform.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Tianru Guan

Tianru Guan is an associate Professor in School of Journalism and Communication, Wuhan University. Her academic interest lies in political communication and public opinion in various social contexts. Her recent publications appear on Digital Journalism, Policy and Internet, Journal of Contemporary China, Comunicar, Media, Culture and Society, The Information Society, Feminist Media Studies, International Communication Gazette, Social Science Quarterly, International Political Science Review, and Journal of East Asian Studies.

Xiaodong Yan

Xiaodong Yan, M.A. in Communication from Wuhan University. His academic interest lies in political communication and gender politics in China.

Tianyang Liu

Tianyang Liu is an associate Professor in School of Politics and Public Administration at Wuhan University. He obtained his PhD from the University of Melbourne, Australia, in 2019. He has written articles on international relations and political communication. His recent publications appear on International Affairs, Political Studies Review, Political Geography, Terrorism and Political Violence, the Pacific Review, Critical Asian Studies, Asian Studies Review, International Relations of the Asia-pacific, Communist and Post-Communist Studies, International Communication Gazette and beyond.