Digital technology has comprehensively reshaped the information landscape of international communications,with multinational platforms emerging as pivotal channels for citizens to stay informed about international affairs,and serving as windows for governments to gather public opinions and formulate foreign policies.It is imperative to not only focus on what the world is discussing about China but also understand how the populace is engaging in these discussions,i.e.,the discourse quality of China-related issues on multinational platforms.Whether the discourse trends towards inclusiveness or polarization,civility or brutality,rationality or conjecture,topic-relevance or presetting standpoint,these factors determine whether discussions about international affairs in global sphere will foster mutual understanding or nurture conflict.By proposing the Index of Discourse Quality on International Affairs,this paper adopts machine learning to examine the discourse quality of China-related discussions on international Q&A platforms.The results show that topics related to China exhibit a high degree of focus,rational argumentation,and civility,a low level of interaction,as well as inapparent xenophobia or internationalism.Moreover,high-quality discussions tend to elicit high-quality feedbacks.It is recommended to enhance the discourse quality of China-related discussions in the global public sphere and promote effective interactions by focusing on four aspects:users,platform regulations,official media,and technologies,thereby fostering rationality,civility,and mutual understanding on the global platforms.
关键词
全球舆论场域/话语质量/涉华议题/国际传播/机器学习
Key words
global public sphere/discourse quality/China-related discussions/international commu-nications/machine learning
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