Pro-liberalism vs. Nationalism: how critical opinion leaders challenge the persuasive effect of propaganda in China

In Chinese cyberspace, mass media and opinion leaders struggle over socio-political discourses. While the former propagates positive views on national policies, the latter often expresses dissenting opinions that challenge authoritarian rule. In the context of China-US competition, do citizens still perceive non-state sources as more credible? Taking the Belt and Road Initiative as the issue, this experimental study investigates how Chinese netizens process conflicting information from a government-owned news agency and two opinion leaders with varying levels of source credibility. Our findings reveal that high-credibility propagandistic news is effective, whereas low-credibility propaganda is not. Furthermore, an opinion leader perceived as independent surpasses government propaganda in influence, regardless of information credibility. However, when an opinion leader is perceived as backed by a rival nation, the former's influence is counterproductive unless their message credibility exceeds that of propaganda. This study sheds light on the prevalence of nationalistic sentiment in China, which has raised concerns about the manipulation of Chinese netizens by hostile forces.

Automated summary

In Chinese cyberspace, the media and opinion leaders vie for control over socio-political discourse. This study investigates how Chinese netizens perceive and process conflicting information from government-owned news agencies and opinion leaders with varying levels of credibility. The findings reveal the effectiveness of high-credibility propaganda and the influence of independent opinion leaders, while cautioning against the counterproductive effects of opinion leaders with perceived support from rival nations. The study sheds light on the prevalence of nationalistic sentiment in China and raises concerns about potential manipulation of Chinese netizens by hostile forces.