The cyberspace has become the main arena for billions of people to access and discuss educational poli-cies.Since the implementation of the"double reduction"policy,the popular discourse in the online space is not predetermined or fixed,but is influenced by the interests and demands of different interest bodies,re-sulting in complex interpretations and re-interpretations of its meaning.An analysis of the changes in the discourse surrounding"double reduction"short videos reveals that mainstream media,scholars,and the general public collectively constitute the main actors in the production,distribution,and construction of the discourse's meaning.They initially interpret the meaning from their own perspectives and then dissem-inate and resonate with each other,ultimately presenting a ripple-like pattern represented by different con-tradictions.The innermost layer represents the contradiction in policy implementation,the middle layer re-presents the contradiction between reducing students'workload and the pressure of entrance exams,and the outermost layer points directly to the contradiction in social structure,with a tendency to further esca-late.The driving force behind this ripple of contradiction is the self-interested general public,who acceler-ate the alienation of family education through concepts such as"accelerated competition","ideal educa-tion",and"self-exploitation",while mainstream media and scholars are absent from the online dialogue,accelerating the spread of the ripple of contradiction and resulting in an unstable,incoherent,and inconsis-tent understanding of the"double reduction"policy among the public,leading to anxiety or indifference.Therefore,it is necessary to emphasize the governance of education in the online space,enhance the mis-sion responsibility and policy dialogue among various stakeholders,pay attention to public opinion,re-spond to public voices,and guide the healthy development of online policy discourse.