Silence Across the Ocean? A Comparative Look at the Effects of the “Spiral of Silence” in China and the US Regarding Fukushima Wastewater Release Discourse
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6430133 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Miaohong Huang (0000-0002-4938-2172, College of Communication & Information Sciences, The University of Alabama), Dong Xu (0000-0001-7022-4518, Renmin University of China), Xu Dong (0000-0002-3960-9003, Renmin University of China), He Gong (0000-0002-5062-1337, Renmin University of China) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 37 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Publication date | 2025-01-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Journal of Public Opinion Research (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0954-2892 • E-ISSN: 1471-6909 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1093/ijpor/edaf028 |
| OpenAlex | W4411721969 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 54 |
Amid the Fukushima wastewater release controversy, this study explores the spiral of silence theory’s role in international digital discourse, using the cases of China and the US Through a survey conducted in both countries (N = 999), this study investigates how perceived congruency with four distinct reference groups predicts individuals’ intentions to voice opinions on social media. The results underscore expert and SNS (social networking sites) contact congruency as key predictors of driving online opinion expression, with significant differences between the countries. While participants from both countries showed increased expression intentions when their opinions were congruent with SNS contacts and experts, these trends manifested more strongly in China. This study advances the spiral of silence theory by elucidating the sources that shape online opinion climates and exploring the congruency-expression dynamics across countries with differing cultural and socio-political contexts. It offers key insights for global communication strategies in complex scientific and controversial issues
Aesthetics · China · Political science · Silence · Spiral (railway · Engineering · Risk Perception and Management · Law · Philosophy
Stimulating the Quasi-statistical Organ
Ostracism
The “Spiral of Silence” Revisited
Comparing Amazon’s Mechanical Turk Platform to Conventional Data Collection Methods in the Health and Medical Research Literature
The optimism bias
Loopholes in the Echo Chambers
Health Risk Communication During Covid-19 Emergency in Italy
Which Perceived Opinion Climates Influence the Participation in Online Political Discussions
Understanding empowerment process of willingness to speak out on social media
SNS users' opinion expression
‘A battlefield for public opinion struggle
The Spiral of Silence a Theory of Public Opinion
Social media and citizen engagement
Are Chinese Netizens Willing to Speak Out? The Spiral of Silence in Public Reactions to Controversial Food Safety Issues on Social Media
The role of collectivism, liberty, Covid fatigue, and fatalism in public support for the zero-Covid policy and relaxing restrictions in China
The Theory of Public Opinion
The Battle for Public Opinion of “Japan’s Nuclear Wastewater Sea Discharge”
Who are these people?” Evaluating the demographic characteristics and political preferences of MTurk survey respondents
Effects of online user comments on public opinion perception, personal opinion, and willingness to speak out
Covid-19 and government trust
Is it better to strike a balance? How exposure to congruent and incongruent opinion climates on social networking sites impacts users’ processing and selection of information
Tipping point” in the SoS? Minority-supportive opinion climate proportion and perceived hostility in uncivil online discussion
Perceiving online public opinion
Too scared to share? Fear of social sanctions for political expression on social media
One Size Fits All
Speaking Up or Silencing Out in the Face of Rising Right-Wing Populism
Exemplifying a Dispositional Approach to Cross-Cultural Spiral of Silence Research
A Cross-Cultural Test of the Spiral of Silence
Validating the Willingness to Self-Censor Scale
Gay Bullying and Online Opinion Expression
Platform affordances and spiral of silence
Beyond the Turk
Reference Groups, Opinion Intensity, and Public Opinion Expression
Inhibiting Speech through Exemplar Distribution
What to Say to an Online Support-Seeker? The Influence of Others' Responses and Support-Seekers' Replies
Anti-Intellectualism, Populism, and Motivated Resistance to Expert Consensus
Perceived Support for One's Opinions and Willingness to Speak Out
Turbulences in the Climate of Opinion
Culture and conformity
Social Media Expression, Political Extremity, and Reduced Network Interaction
Elite Cues and the Rapid Decline in Trust in Science Agencies on Covid-19
Hofstede's Culture Dimensions
| Highly cited | No |
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