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The Study Of Rumors During The Crisis Event

Posted on:2013-11-15Degree:MasterType:Thesis
Country:ChinaCandidate:D WangFull Text:PDF
GTID:2248330371499746Subject:Communication
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Every severe disaster means misfortune for the human beings, yet usually it also means great chance for the observation and research of certain subject. Just like the SARS, for the rumor study, Japan nuclear radiation crisis was another important window through which to observe and reflect rumor spreading.In the wake of SARS and nuclear radiation crises come the rumors. What accounts for the phenomenon that rumors always spread during the crisis event? From the angle of rumor occurrence mechanism, this essay first analyzes the common and inevitable causes of rumor spreading, that including the existence and communication of globalist risk, the insufficient accession and credibility of information, the deficiency of scientific spirit, and the impulse of interests, and so on. Secondly, this essay probes into the reasons that lead to the great distinctions between the SARS and nuclear radiation rumors in edition and spreading track. The existences of "knowledge gap" and "information gap" make the "wonder child" rumor got the most possibility of communication and practice in rural area. The wide usage of new media, the influence of "Third person effect" and the psychology change of the public together shape the spreading track of rumor in nuclear radiation crisis, that comes and goes in haste.Spreading is the life of rumor. The second part of this essay concentrates on the spreading mechanism of rumor. From the angle of collective memory, this essay first explains the phenomenon of similar rumor recurrence. And then apply the "collective behavior" theory to interpret the behavior of the pubic that followed and trust blindly. The spreading of rumors during crisis event includes the information and the related emotion and affection, that are all apt to be affected by the mechanism of group hint, group infection and group imitation. And then, this essay analyzes the mechanism of refuting rumors. Just like Kapferer says, refuting a rumor is a tough art, refuting a rumor may lead to the opposite result. So it demands more to fulfill the task of rumor refutation. Through observation it’s not hard to find that the "wonder child" rumor has some extent of transformation during the process of spreading. This essay explains this phenomenon applying the Information distortion theory of Allport. As the wide appliance of new media, the advanced duplication and forwarding function lessen the extent of rumor distortion, so it’s necessary to adjust the appliance sphere of Information distortion theory. Besides this, what other influences the new media have brought to the rumor spreading is the last focus of this chapter.From the causes and mechanism of rumor spreading analyzed in the former chapters, it’s obvious that the occurrence and communication of rumor during crisis event is spurred and affected by many factors. So, it needs the joint efforts of government, media and the public to eliminate or reduce the unfavourable affect of rumor. SARS quicken the openness pace of Chinese government’s information. Timely openness and transparency of authoritative information can eliminate the public’s uncertainty. While, whether the information is authoritative or not, based on the judgment of the public, so the credibility is very important. Besides, grasping the occasion and making good use of traditional and new media are the key measures to improve the effects of refuting rumors. Keeping mature and rational attitude towards rumor is valuable, it relied on the improvement of scientific knowledge, upbring of scientific spirit and the promotion of information distinction ability of the public. The administrative and judicial means are also the common methods to deal with rumor. While the key is the moderation, without control is dangerous, but too much control is more dangerous.
Keywords/Search Tags:rumor, cause, spreading mechanism, rumor control
PDF Full Text Request
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