User Engagement in Public Discourse on Genetically Modified Organisms: The Role of Opinion Leaders on Social Media

Qian Xu*, Nan Yu, Celine SONG

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

31 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This study adopted a quantitative content analysis to examine how source attributes of opinion leaders and their message framing influenced user engagement in the public discourse of genetically modified organism (GMO) on Chinese social media. The findings showed that different source attributes and message frames used by opinion leaders varied in their respective influences on three dimensions of user engagement—reposts, comments, and likes. The attribute of account verification only predicted surface-level engagement (i.e., liking), whereas account type significantly influenced in-depth engagement (i.e., reposting and commenting). The fact, opportunity, pro-GMO, and international frames positively predicted user engagement.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)691-717
Number of pages27
JournalScience Communication
Volume40
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Dec 2018

Scopus Subject Areas

  • Sociology and Political Science

User-Defined Keywords

  • genetically modified organism
  • opinion leader
  • social media
  • user engagement
  • Weibo

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