Rumormongering of genetically modified (GM) food on Chinese social network

A Serious Game ("Fight With Virus") for Preventing COVID-19 Health Rumors: Development and Experimental Study

BACKGROUND

Health rumors arbitrarily spread in mainstream social media on the internet. Health rumors emerged in China during the outbreak of COVID-19 in early 2020. Many midelders/elders (age over 40 years) who lived in Wuhan believed these rumors.

OBJECTIVE

This study focused on designing a serious game as an experimental program to prevent and control health rumors. The focus of the study was explicitly on the context of the social networking service for midelders/elders.

METHODS

This research involved 2 major parts: adopting the Transmission Control Protocol model for games and then, based on the model, designing a game named "Fight With Virus" as an experimental platform and developing a cognitive questionnaire with a 5-point Likert scale. The relevant variables for this experimental study were defined, and 10 hypotheses were proposed and tested with an empirical study. In total, 200 participants were selected for the experiments. By collecting relevant data in the experiments, we conducted statistical observations and comparative analysis to test whether the experimental hypotheses could be proved.

RESULTS

We noted that compared to traditional media, serious games are more capable of inspiring interest in research participants toward their understanding of the knowledge and learning of health commonsense. In judging and recognizing the COVID-19 health rumor, the test group that used game education had a stronger ability regarding identification of the rumor and a higher accuracy rate of identification. Results showed that the more educated midelders/elders are, the more effective they are at using serious games.

CONCLUSIONS

Compared to traditional media, serious games can effectively improve midelders'/elders' cognitive abilities while they face a health rumor. The gameplay effect is related to the individual's age and educational background, while income and gender have no impact.

Does Social Media Users' Interaction Influence the Formation of Echo Chambers? Social Network Analysis Based on Vaccine Video Comments on YouTube

The characteristics and influence of the echo chamber effect (TECE) of health misinformation diffusion on social media have been investigated by researchers, but the formation mechanism of TECE needs to be explored specifically and deeply. This research focuses on the influence of users' imitation, intergroup interaction, and reciprocity behavior on TECE based on the social contagion mechanism. A user comment-reply social network was constructed using the comments of a COVID-19 vaccine video on YouTube. The semantic similarity and Exponential Random Graph Model (ERGM) were used to calculate TECE and the effect of three interaction mechanisms on the echo chamber. The results show that there is a weak echo chamber effect (ECE) in the spread of misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine. The imitation and intergroup interaction behavior are positively related to TECE. Reciprocity has no significant influence on TECE.

Deconstruction of the discourse authority of scientists in Chinese online science communication: Investigation of citizen science communicators on Chinese knowledge sharing networks

This article explores science communication and discussion about genetically modified food on Zhihu, the biggest Chinese knowledge-sharing social network, through the methods of online ethnography and discourse analysis. The long-term online ethnography finds a new group emerging: citizen science communicators - those members of the public without a professional scientific background who actively assume the role of communicators. The discoursal and behavioural characteristics of citizen science communicators effectively eliminate the boundaries between scientists and the public, scientific discourse and that of non-scientists, as well as the 'exclusive legitimacy' of science and scientists in the online science communication process. By eliminating boundaries and 'exclusive legitimacy', the authority of Chinese scientists has also been challenged and deconstructed in online science communication on Zhihu.

For or against genetically modified foods: Different discursive strategies in Chinese social media

This study investigates the discourse of a long-lasting social debate over the safety of genetically modified food in China. Based on data from the social media platform WeChat, it adopts the perspective of critical discourse analysis to analyze what strategies are used in discourses of Chinese genetically modified foods to construct identities of the two opposing sides in genetically modified debates. The two sides use different rhetorical devices, argumentative strategies, and intertextual historical elements. Specifically, opponents of genetically modified food are inclined to use metaphors, moralization, intertextual proverbs, and revolutionary inflection to legitimize their position, while supporters often use irony, authorization, and historical allusions to legitimate as well as enhance their hegemony. I suggest that exploring how each side strategically constructs a discourse may facilitate better understanding and mitigate conflict between the two polarized viewpoints represented in social media.

Microblog credibility indicators regarding misinformation of genetically modified food on Weibo

The considerable amount of misinformation on social media regarding genetically modified (GM) food will not only hinder public understanding but also mislead the public to make unreasoned decisions. This study discovered a new mechanism of misinformation diffusion in the case of GM food and applied a framework of supervised machine learning to identify effective credibility indicators for the misinformation prediction of GM food. Main indicators are proposed, including user identities involved in spreading information, linguistic styles, and propagation dynamics. Results show that linguistic styles, including sentiment and topics, have the dominant predictive power. In addition, among the user identities, engagement, and extroversion are effective predictors, while reputation has almost no predictive power in this study. Finally, we provide strategies that readers should be aware of when assessing the credibility of online posts and suggest improvements that Weibo can use to avoid rumormongering and enhance the science communication of GM food.

GM trust shaped by trust determinants with the impact of risk/benefit framework: the contingent role of food technology neophobia

The present study is comparative in natures that focus on understanding the factors that influence the GM food trust level in the BRA framework and food technology neophobia in China and the USA. For this purpose, we collected 300 and 350 valid responses, respectively, through a structured questionnaire. By carefully evaluating the above relationships, we found that trust determinants such as institutional trust, technology trust, information revealed with GM food vary across both datasets. However, GM knowledge has a better association with GM food trust in both cases. Apart from this, the food technology neophobia slightly moderates the benefits-risk perception of consumers and GM trust. This study guides the policymakers to enhance GM knowledge, as GM food is scientifically proven safe for health and environment and can be a financial incentive for the farmers. Further, the study also provides direction for corporate managers to design effective marketing and communication strategies in two different countries by investigating GM food trust's primary motivators in both nations.

Internet as a context: Exploring its impacts on scientific optimism in China

The Internet brings new opportunities and challenges to scientific development and science communication. Previous studies overwhelmingly focused on individual-level Internet factors but overlooked the potential explanatory strength of Internet context. This study addresses the existing gap by examining how the Internet influences Chinese people’s scientific optimism from a comprehensive perspective (Internet as a medium and Internet as a context). Multilevel models were built based on individual-provincial merged data. The results indicate that (1) the Internet context impairs scientific optimism while Internet exposure has no significant effect. (2) The relationship between individual Internet exposure and scientific optimism varies by province. As a quantitative indicator of Internet context, Internet penetration mitigates the weakening effect of individual Internet exposure on scientific optimism. This research provides empirical evidence on scientific attitude formation in the non-Western environment and expands the analytic approach of public attitudes toward science.

A rapid and convenient method for on-site detection of MON863 maize through real-time fluorescence recombinase polymerase amplification

As large-scale planting of genetically modified (GM) crops increases, the development of a rapid and convenient method for on-site detection of GM crops is important. We combined the advantages of recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) and fluorescence detection to establish a rapid, sensitive, specific, and simple detection platform for on-site detection of MON863 maize. Test samples were added directly to the platform after simple pre-treatment with a DNA extraction-free method. Results were obtained through real-time monitoring with a portable instrument, which facilitated sample-in/answer-out on-site detection. The entire detection process, including sample preparation, RPA and identification of amplification results, was accomplished in approximately 10 min. Furthermore, the detection was achieved with a simple and inexpensive portable device. This method has high potential for application in other fields requiring rapid detection of DNA targets, such as in field research, resource-limited areas, and science education.