Exposure to news about the South China Sea, nationalism, and government evaluation: examining the mediation roles of third-person effects and online discussion

Abstract

Based on the communication mediation model, the third-person effect hypothesis was integrated to analyze the influence of the exposure to South China Sea news on its perceived effects on the self and others. In addition, the influences of such exposure on online discussions and political attitudes were examined, specifically in relation to nationalism and government evaluation. The survey (N = 868) found that the respondents perceived a stronger media effect on others than on themselves, whereas exposure to traditional and news media exposure exhibited equivalent effects on the self and on others. Moreover, the perceived effects on oneself promoted online discussion and nationalism, whereas the perceived effects on others improved government evaluation. The findings of this study indicate that the effects of media exposure on nationalism and government evaluation are marginally mediated by perceived effects, online discussion, or both.

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