A Study On Rumor Reporting And Disinformation Refuting In "ShenBao" (1872-1949)

“Shen Bao” is an encyclopedia of Chinese modern history with its unparalleled richness and value of historical data.As a social and cultural phenomenon,rumors can provide a new perspective for us to see the modern social history.In modern society,the newspaper is an important means of communication with rumors and rumors refuting of the social phenomenon of course also in it.“Shen Bao” is a commercial newspaper characterized by social news.It is not surprising that there are many reports on rumors and disinformation.It has been a period of war and turbulence in most of the 78 years since the founding of the “Shen Bao”.In such a period,it is precisely the peak period when rumors occur,especially military,political and economic rumors.Therefore,“Shen Bao” is a representative of the new media in modern times.There is a great deal of attention to rumors and reports on rumors covering almost every aspect of life.Rumors come along with rumors refuting,authenticity is very important,for the influential newspaper “Shen Bao” as it is one of its vitality.In order to ensure that their reports are true,“Shen Bao” must disprove false information,especially rumors that have a significant impact on society.In addition,as a major newspaper with “righteousness”,“Shen Bao” has also shouldered its own responsibilities and carried out public opinion supervision over the society.There is a lot of talk about rumors on “Shen Bao”,which are either the discussion about the cause of rumors,ways to ban rumors or their views on rumors.These discussions provide us with a new perspectivefor us to see the social situation at that time.Based on the news reports and theories from 1872 to 1949,this paper sorts out,generalizes and summarizes the rumour reports,disinformation and discussion in the whole period.Through the investigation of these rumors,this paper probes into the role of “Shen Bao” in the rumour reporting and refuting in the public opinion space and reflects the social and historical situation in the special period.It also provides a fresh sample for further exploring the relationship between the new media and rumors in the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China.