Framing as an Information Control Strategy in Times of Crisis. (July 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Xia, Shouzhi; Huang, Huang; Zhang, Dong
• Is Part Of: Journal of East Asian studies. Volume 22:Number 2(2022)
• Page Start: 255
• Page End: 279
• Publication Date: 2022-07
• Subjects: authoritarian regimes -- information control -- framing -- text analysis; East Asia -- Periodicals; East Asia -- Politics and government -- Periodicals; East Asia -- Economic conditions -- Periodicals; East Asia -- Social conditions -- Periodicals; 950.05
• DOI: 10.1017/jea.2022.5
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1598-2408

Abstract

Abstract: How can authoritarian regimes effectively control information to maintain regime legitimacy in times of crisis? We argue that media framing constitutes a subtle and sophisticated information control strategy in authoritarian regimes and plays a critical role in steering public opinion and cultivating an image of competent government during a tremendous crisis. Using structural topic models (STM), we conduct a textual analysis of more than 4, 600 news reports produced by seven Chinese media outlets during the COVID-19 pandemic. We find that Chinese media, instructed by the propaganda authorities, used a heroism frame to feature frontline medics' sacrifices when saving others in need and resorted to a contrast frame to highlight the poor performance of the United States in the fight against COVID-19. We also show that both state and commercial media outlets used these two frames, though the tone of commercial media coverage was generally more moderate than the state media version.