Discussing Environmental Issues in Chinese Social Media: An Analysis of Greenpeace China’s Weibo Posts and Audience Responses

Authors

  • Qihao Ji Marist College
  • Summer Harlow Florida State University
  • Di Cui Florida State University
  • Zihan Wang

Keywords:

advocacy, content analysis, emotions, environment, framing, social media

Abstract

 

 

Despite growing interest in citizens’ use of social media for environmental purposes, the way in which environmental non-Governmental organizations (ENGOs) employ social media has been largely neglected. Drawing on environmental communication and message framing scholarship, this content analysis of a year’s worth of Greenpeace China’s Weibo posts and user comments explores a) how a leading ENGO discusses environmental issues on social media, and b) how users react to various environmental topics and framing strategies in terms of liking, sharing, and commenting. Results suggested that Greenpeace China adopted the responsibility frame heavily in messages and focused largely on pollution-related topics. Users reacted the most to food and agriculture-related posts. The conflict frame was related to more emotional comments, and the presence of a responsibility frame was related to more likes and reposts. Implications for framing studies on social media and environmental communication are discussed.

Author Biographies

Qihao Ji, Marist College

Qihao Ji (Ph.D. Florida State University) is an Assistant Professor of Communication at Marist College.
@qihaoji

Summer Harlow, Florida State University

Summer Harlow (Ph.D. University of Texas, Austin) is an assistant professor of communication at Florida State University. 

@SummerDHarlow

Di Cui, Florida State University

Di Cui is a doctoral candidate of communication at Florida State University. 

Zihan Wang

Zihan Wang is a recent PhD graduate from Florida State University. 

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Published

2018-05-31