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论文类型：期刊论文

发表时间：2018-01-01

发表刊物：INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION

收录刊物：SSCI

卷号：12

页面范围：2599-2621

ISSN号：1932-8036

关键字：opinion leader; public opinion; propaganda; survey experiment; China; authoritarianism; public intellectuals

摘要：Social media provide a free space for opinion leaders (OPLs) to influence public opinion in contemporary China, where OPLs need to compete with the powerful propaganda machine. So how much influence can OPLs exert on the public under the shadow of authoritarianism? A survey experiment of 1,326 Internet users in Beijing found that OPLs guide respondents' policy opinions and encourage information sharing when the OPLs are not perceived to be a part of the propaganda campaign. However, when audiences believe that OPLs are the agents of propaganda, such effects disappear. The results reveal that the OPLs' effects are conditioned by the authoritarian institutional context in which the public discussion takes place. We conclude that such effects have ambiguous consequences in cultivating critical citizens.