# Analysis of Chinese Image Discourse Based on Crawler Algorithms

Authors: Rui Zhang
Journal: Mobile Information Systems
 (2022)

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## Abstract

The study explores the construction of China's image in the context of a major public health event such as the Newcastle pneumonia epidemic by crawling social media data in China during the epidemic prevention and control period. The study argues that, in the era of new media, especially self-media, the image of China in Chinese social media during the prevention and control of the Newcastle pneumonia epidemic presents multiple types of images, ranging from a “dual” image of those fighting and preventing the epidemic in their home country and their country of residence to a “dual” image of those being questioned and even those being “questioned” in their home country and their country of residence. “It is worth noting that in March 2020, the number of people who have been affected by the epidemic in their home countries will be increased to 3,000. It is worth mentioning that in mid to late March 2020, Chinese people in China had a serious negative image crisis, but it was quickly repaired through mechanisms such as government “stabilisers,” mainstream media “gatekeepers,” and audience “self-purification.” One of the lessons is that image repair relies on the “stabiliser,” the “gatekeeper” of mainstream media, and the “self-purification” of the audience. One of the lessons is that image repair relies on the triple factor of “real society—audience” working together. The second lesson is that while the open Internet environment can generate a lot of exaggerated and false information; at the same time, audiences, including Chinese people, can remove misunderstandings and bridge differences through active voices and debates and activate rational and healthy positive energy. The epidemic is a “danger” and an “opportunity” for China’s image.


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## Body

## 1. Introduction

The sudden outbreak of Newcastle Pneumonia has swept the world, causing unprecedented human infections, economic losses, social pressure, and public panic [1]. The research focus of human-computer interaction (HCI) and its related technologies is the realization of interactive computing systems. Thippa Reddy Gadekallu et al. [2] realized the convolutional neural network model based on a crow search in the study of gesture recognition related to the HCI domain and proved the superiority of this model over traditional advanced models. By introducing deformable convolution, Li et al. [3] proposed a novel multitask network, and experiments on various types of multitask learning proved the effectiveness of the method in this study. In order to effectively improve the accuracy of doctors’ manual judgment of COVID-19 positive and negative, Fang and Wang [4] proposed a novel coronavirus pneumonia deep classification network model based on convolution and deconvolution local enhancement. The experimental results show that the algorithm has good performance. Liang et al. [5] used a dual deep learning network to establish the translation-translation relationship between NIR images and RGB images. Intensive comparative analysis based on public datasets verifies that it outperforms state-of-the-art methods in qualitative and quantitative visual evaluations.Now that the era of big data has arrived, and web crawler technology has become an indispensable part of this era. Enterprises need data to analyze user behaviour, to analyze the deficiencies of their own products, to analyze the information of competitors, etc. (Figure1). Chinese people live across borders in both their home country and their country of residence, both integrating and participating in the development of both societies, and possibly experiencing double divisions and misunderstandings in both societies, and this epidemic has highlighted the double discrimination and exclusion suffered by Chinese people. This study is based on a crawler (python) programming technique that crawls a large amount of data from Chinese Internet media platforms to conduct a theoretical analysis of the image of China during the epidemic prevention and control period, describe the multiple images of Chinese people in Chinese social media during the epidemic prevention and control period, analyze the negative perceptions encountered by Chinese people and their causes, and explore the repair mechanism of the negative image of Chinese people [6].Figure 1
Crawler algorithm.


## 2. Data and Methodology

In this study, we used Chinese, overseas Chinese, and international students as search targets and ran a web crawler program to capture big data from four social media platforms, namely, Weibo, WeChat, Zhihu, and Baidu Post, from January 1, 2020, to May 6, 2020, during the epidemic prevention and control period. When analyzing the hot events, this study mainly focused on the data of Weibo platform, including 425,706 posts and replies; when analyzing the overall situation, the scope of crawling was extended to Weibo, WeChat, Zhihu, and Baidu Posting Bar, including 515,753 posts and replies [7], as listed in Table 1.Table 1
The network platform’s data distribution.
TerraceTerraceTerraceTerraceTerraceMicroblogMicroblogMicroblogMicroblogMicroblogThe crawler works as follows:The main purpose of the crawler in this study is to carry out data collection; that is, the data source set up is for data crawling, and Figure2 is the architecture model of the crawler and shows the data source, data collection, data parsing, URL filtering, information database, and link database for the main components of the generic web crawler, in which each component is described separately.(1)
Data Sources. These data sources are the key entry points for web crawling.(2)
Data Acquisition. This module accesses the data sources and downloads their structure.(3)
Data Parsing. This module parses the downloaded data structures and stores the data content in the database.(5)
Data Link Filtering. The data passed through are processed and if they are duplicated or garbled, then they are deemed invalid.(6)
Information Database. After the data filtering to get the correct data, the data can be stored into the information database.(7)
Link Database. This module is mainly used to store links to data sources.Figure 2
Architecture of a generic web crawler.


## 3. Analysis of the Discourse on the Image of Chinese People

The increase and decrease in the number of reports on Chinese people are closely related to the changes of the epidemic at home and abroad, and its coverage can be roughly divided into the following three stages: first, from January to the end of February 2020, the number of reports was on the rise. On January 20, the number of reports increased from double digits to triple digits (168 reports); on January 24, it increased to quadruple digits (1006 reports); after that, it fluctuated between 2000 and 5000 reports. In late February and early March, the epidemic in China was gradually brought under control, while the epidemic in Europe and the United States became increasingly serious, and the topic of Chinese people travelling between their home country and living in the United States became a hot topic on the Internet and was pushed into the limelight [8]. In terms of data, the number increased to 8,321 on February 26, jumped to five digits on March 13 (13,011), and the peak wave of data was from March 13 to March 23 with a daily average of 13,998, with the highest value occurring on March 17 (31,141). Third, after the end of March, the number of reports declined. By this time, the outbreak in China was largely under control and not affected by external imports, and the number of reports on Chinese people gradually declined. The details are shown in Figure 3.Figure 3
Overall popularity status of Chinese people from January 1 to May 6, 2020.


### 3.1. Analysis of Chinese People’s Multiple Images Based on Hot Events

Because Weibo has the largest amount of data, and it is often the platform where hot events are posted earlier and discussed more, in order to reduce the duplication of search work, this section only screens hot events from 425,706 data (including posts and replies) involving Chinese people on Weibo from January 1 to May 6, 2020 [9]. After computer screening, manual secondary screening, and merging of the same topics, the author selected 130 hot events related to Chinese people. Among them, the images of Chinese people during the epidemic prevention and control period can be broadly classified into the following nine categories (Table 2).Table 2
Multiple types of network image of Chinese people from January to April 2020.
Heat value of each monthHeat value of each monthHeat value of each monthHeat value of each monthHeat value of each monthHeat value of each monthImageImageImageImageImageImageImage1, Month 2. Month 3. Month 4, Month1, Month1, Month1, Month1, Month1, Month1, Month2. Month2. Month2. Month2. Month2. Month2. Month3. Month3. Month3. Month3. Month3. Month3. Month4, Month4, Month4, Month4, Month4, Month4, MonthAmount to Zu (nationality) national perspective backer 948Amount toAmount toAmount toAmount toAmount toAmount toZu (nationality) national perspectiveZu (nationality) national perspectiveZu (nationality) national perspectiveZu (nationality) national perspectiveZu (nationality) national perspectiveZu (nationality) national perspectiveBackerBackerBackerBackerBackerBacker948948948948948948Table2 presents nine images of Chinese people in the fight against the epidemic from the perspective of their home country and the perspective of their country of residence, each of which is analyzed below.The first is the image of a “helper” to help the motherland fight the epidemic. After the outbreak of COVID-19 in China, overseas Chinese and international students from many countries and regions organized to purchase masks, protective clothing, goggles, and other medical supplies that were in short supply in China and delivered them to support China. Fight against the epidemic continued through charter flights, mailings, or individual carry-on.The second is the image of “asylum seekers” returning to their home countries. By mid-March, the epidemic had spread to more than 160 countries and regions, and on March 16, the number of confirmed cases overseas surpassed that of China. As the situation became increasingly serious, many Chinese people chose to return to China to avoid the epidemic.Third, there is the image of the “noncooperative” who do not comply with the epidemic prevention regulations of their home countries. Some of the Chinese who returned to China from overseas did not cooperate with the epidemic prevention and control in their home countries and were accompanied by violent or disgruntled comments.Fourth, there is the image of the “cooperators” who comply with the epidemic prevention and control regulations of their home countries. In contrast to the “noncooperative,” the majority of Chinese returning from overseas have taken the initiative to declare their health truthfully and have actively cooperated with quarantine and isolation measures in their home countries.Fifth, there is the image of the “assisted” who have received help from their home countries. Since the outbreak of the epidemic, the Chinese government has been doing its utmost to assist Chinese people in preventing and fighting the epidemic, and many Chinese people have received various forms of assistance from the Chinese government, especially from Chinese overseas authorities.Sixth, it stigmatizes the “discriminated” image of the United States. After the outbreak, some people in Europe and the United States disparaged the new coronavirus as “Chinese virus” and “Wuhan pneumonia,” associating the source of the virus with China, Chinese, ethnic Chinese, and even Asians, and deliberately inciting racial hatred, leading to racism against Chinese people. This has led to further “stigmatization” of the Chinese people, all kinds of discrimination, and exclusion.Seventh, there is the image of the “self-helpers” who are involved in the fight against the epidemic in their home country. Chinese people living in the United States are helping each other through various means, both by self-reliance and by collective efforts, and are doing a good job in preventing and fighting the epidemic while speaking out against discrimination and abuse.Eighth, there is the image of a “helper” to help countries fight the epidemic. During the epidemic prevention and control period, the Chinese people not only paid attention to their own health and safety but also actively helped the host country to fight the epidemic, “helping others” in addition to “helping themselves,” and advocating the spirit of “helping those left behind” and “If you stay, you’ll help”.The ninth is the “supporter” image as understood by the United States. Due to the epidemic, the Chinese have experienced a lot of discrimination and prejudice. Some organizations and people living in China have made it clear that they must put aside their prejudices and face difficulties together.The above 9 phenomena cannot be directly obtained intuitively. Based on this problem, this study uses Python technology to analyze and chart the feedback of the 9 phenomena, so that readers can intuitively obtain the visual data of each situation and use graphics ways to represent images of people (Figure4).Figure 4
Image analysis chart.Overall, the graph shows a “dual” image of Chinese people on Chinese social media. Due to their dual association with their home country and their residence in China, the new pneumonia epidemic has swept the world, with Chinese people presenting a “dual” image of fighting and preventing the epidemic in their home country [10]. On the one hand, the Chinese were “double” aid donors: from January to February, when the epidemic broke out in China and supplies were in short supply, the Chinese provided substantial material assistance to their home countries; in late February and early March, when the epidemic broke out abroad, the Chinese provided assistance to their home countries in the form of human, material, and financial resources. On the other hand, the Chinese were also “double” aid recipients: they received strong support from their home countries in times of trouble and at the same time gained the recognition and understanding of the friendly people in their home countries. At the same time, it is also important to note that during the epidemic prevention and control period, and Chinese people have encountered “double” scepticism and, at certain moments, even “double” discrimination by some public opinion in their home country and their country of origin. This study focuses on the construction of a negative image of Chinese people by domestic public opinion [11].


## 3.1. Analysis of Chinese People’s Multiple Images Based on Hot Events

Because Weibo has the largest amount of data, and it is often the platform where hot events are posted earlier and discussed more, in order to reduce the duplication of search work, this section only screens hot events from 425,706 data (including posts and replies) involving Chinese people on Weibo from January 1 to May 6, 2020 [9]. After computer screening, manual secondary screening, and merging of the same topics, the author selected 130 hot events related to Chinese people. Among them, the images of Chinese people during the epidemic prevention and control period can be broadly classified into the following nine categories (Table 2).Table 2
Multiple types of network image of Chinese people from January to April 2020.
Heat value of each monthHeat value of each monthHeat value of each monthHeat value of each monthHeat value of each monthHeat value of each monthImageImageImageImageImageImageImage1, Month 2. Month 3. Month 4, Month1, Month1, Month1, Month1, Month1, Month1, Month2. Month2. Month2. Month2. Month2. Month2. Month3. Month3. Month3. Month3. Month3. Month3. Month4, Month4, Month4, Month4, Month4, Month4, MonthAmount to Zu (nationality) national perspective backer 948Amount toAmount toAmount toAmount toAmount toAmount toZu (nationality) national perspectiveZu (nationality) national perspectiveZu (nationality) national perspectiveZu (nationality) national perspectiveZu (nationality) national perspectiveZu (nationality) national perspectiveBackerBackerBackerBackerBackerBacker948948948948948948Table2 presents nine images of Chinese people in the fight against the epidemic from the perspective of their home country and the perspective of their country of residence, each of which is analyzed below.The first is the image of a “helper” to help the motherland fight the epidemic. After the outbreak of COVID-19 in China, overseas Chinese and international students from many countries and regions organized to purchase masks, protective clothing, goggles, and other medical supplies that were in short supply in China and delivered them to support China. Fight against the epidemic continued through charter flights, mailings, or individual carry-on.The second is the image of “asylum seekers” returning to their home countries. By mid-March, the epidemic had spread to more than 160 countries and regions, and on March 16, the number of confirmed cases overseas surpassed that of China. As the situation became increasingly serious, many Chinese people chose to return to China to avoid the epidemic.Third, there is the image of the “noncooperative” who do not comply with the epidemic prevention regulations of their home countries. Some of the Chinese who returned to China from overseas did not cooperate with the epidemic prevention and control in their home countries and were accompanied by violent or disgruntled comments.Fourth, there is the image of the “cooperators” who comply with the epidemic prevention and control regulations of their home countries. In contrast to the “noncooperative,” the majority of Chinese returning from overseas have taken the initiative to declare their health truthfully and have actively cooperated with quarantine and isolation measures in their home countries.Fifth, there is the image of the “assisted” who have received help from their home countries. Since the outbreak of the epidemic, the Chinese government has been doing its utmost to assist Chinese people in preventing and fighting the epidemic, and many Chinese people have received various forms of assistance from the Chinese government, especially from Chinese overseas authorities.Sixth, it stigmatizes the “discriminated” image of the United States. After the outbreak, some people in Europe and the United States disparaged the new coronavirus as “Chinese virus” and “Wuhan pneumonia,” associating the source of the virus with China, Chinese, ethnic Chinese, and even Asians, and deliberately inciting racial hatred, leading to racism against Chinese people. This has led to further “stigmatization” of the Chinese people, all kinds of discrimination, and exclusion.Seventh, there is the image of the “self-helpers” who are involved in the fight against the epidemic in their home country. Chinese people living in the United States are helping each other through various means, both by self-reliance and by collective efforts, and are doing a good job in preventing and fighting the epidemic while speaking out against discrimination and abuse.Eighth, there is the image of a “helper” to help countries fight the epidemic. During the epidemic prevention and control period, the Chinese people not only paid attention to their own health and safety but also actively helped the host country to fight the epidemic, “helping others” in addition to “helping themselves,” and advocating the spirit of “helping those left behind” and “If you stay, you’ll help”.The ninth is the “supporter” image as understood by the United States. Due to the epidemic, the Chinese have experienced a lot of discrimination and prejudice. Some organizations and people living in China have made it clear that they must put aside their prejudices and face difficulties together.The above 9 phenomena cannot be directly obtained intuitively. Based on this problem, this study uses Python technology to analyze and chart the feedback of the 9 phenomena, so that readers can intuitively obtain the visual data of each situation and use graphics ways to represent images of people (Figure4).Figure 4
Image analysis chart.Overall, the graph shows a “dual” image of Chinese people on Chinese social media. Due to their dual association with their home country and their residence in China, the new pneumonia epidemic has swept the world, with Chinese people presenting a “dual” image of fighting and preventing the epidemic in their home country [10]. On the one hand, the Chinese were “double” aid donors: from January to February, when the epidemic broke out in China and supplies were in short supply, the Chinese provided substantial material assistance to their home countries; in late February and early March, when the epidemic broke out abroad, the Chinese provided assistance to their home countries in the form of human, material, and financial resources. On the other hand, the Chinese were also “double” aid recipients: they received strong support from their home countries in times of trouble and at the same time gained the recognition and understanding of the friendly people in their home countries. At the same time, it is also important to note that during the epidemic prevention and control period, and Chinese people have encountered “double” scepticism and, at certain moments, even “double” discrimination by some public opinion in their home country and their country of origin. This study focuses on the construction of a negative image of Chinese people by domestic public opinion [11].


## 4. Generation and Repair of Chinese Image Discourse

### 4.1. Generation

In Table3, the image of “noncooperators” who do not comply with the epidemic prevention and control regulations of their home country has a total popularity of 161,125, ranking first. Combined with the hot events of Chinese people during the epidemic prevention and control period, seven of the top 20 events were related to the image of “noncooperators,” and “Australian-Chinese woman who returns to Beijing and refuses to go out for a run in isolation” ranked first among all events with 77,499 messages. The “Australian-Chinese woman refusing to run outside in isolation” ranked first with 77,499 messages [12]. It is clear that the negative image of Chinese people has a profound impact. The reasons for this include the following three factors:Table 3
Heat ranking of Chinese network image.
SortSortSortImageImageImageHeat value (bar)Heat value (bar)Heat value (bar)111Do not cooperate withDo not cooperate withDo not cooperate with161,125161,125161,125222RefugeeRefugeeRefugee149,168149,168149,168333


#### 4.1.1. Social Behavioural Factors

During the epidemic control period, the negative image of Chinese people was somewhat “right” and “wrong.” “On the “yes” side, some Chinese people acted in a way that was inconsistent with public order and morals and even laws and regulations when they returned to their home countries to avoid the epidemic. For example, they did not quarantine themselves, did not report in time, deliberately concealed information about their symptoms, and did not report them. Some of them even made violent remarks or behaved in the process of inspection and control. These behaviours form the basic structure of a negative image. However, the social behaviour factor cannot fully explain the negative image, which leads to the “non” side of the story: first, individual Chinese people behaved inappropriately but in an isolated and unlikely manner; second, reports of inappropriate behaviour were exaggerated and misrepresented. This involves the following two factors [13]:


#### 4.1.2. Socio-Emotional Factors

Socio-emotional factors also include two aspects: one is the double prevention of the collision of anxiety. In their experiments on the spread of gossip, Anthony and Rosnau pointed out that the “anxiety” factor was directly proportional to the spread of gossip. Since late February/early March 2020, the domestic epidemic has been gradually brought under control, and the overseas epidemic has continued to spread. Some Chinese are anxious because of their lack of confidence in the U.S. epidemic prevention and control. On the other hand, as the situation improved, domestic people were shocked and worried that the epidemic would rebound in China [14]. The more you resist foreigners’ input, the more you want to see news that is not conducive to foreigners’ input. It is very likely that an “information cocoon” will be formed during the epidemic control period, allowing viewers to selectively accept the information they want and gradually create themselves. This is very important. It is possible to form an “information cocoon” during the epidemic control period, and audiences selectively accept the information they want to see, gradually forming a self-imposed “cocoon.” Second, there is accumulated dissatisfaction with the hype of the strong. In the process of classifying rumours, Shi Aidong divides the rumours into a category of “fluffy” rumours that have similar owners and recur on the same themes and structure as long as there are events that can be exploited. A typical rumour of social events is based on the exercise of privilege by the powerful. The people of this country are dissatisfied with the fact that a few people have accumulated raw capital in an inappropriate way and then speculated in the guise of highbrow egoism for greater power and profit. During the period of epidemic prevention and control, some Chinese returned to China to avoid the epidemic, which activated the association of some people in the country with the story of the power elite hyping the story of “eat the east and stay in the west.” In this special period of the epidemic, the story hyped by the power elite has been “resurrected” again [15].


#### 4.1.3. Communication Factors

In the Web 1.0 era, information was mainly delivered top-down with websites as the centre, while in the current Web 2.0 era, the web is decentralised and the public can actively participate in creating information. Each online platform is composed of different degrees of information producers, such as organized OGC (professional content production), relatively specialised PGC (professional content production), and individual UGC (user produced content), and information creators of all kinds have more diverse information sources and information presentation methods than traditional media in the past, but rigour and standardisation are seriously lacking. In an era, when the flow is king, public figures and “big V” focus on the number of clicks, retweets, likes, and favorites, all hoping to get a share of the “attention” resources [16]. Against this backdrop, there were several problems with the coverage of Chinese people during the epidemic control period: first is about the amplification of individual incidents. A small number of Chinese returned to China during the epidemic, and a very small number of them did not cooperate with the epidemic, but the continuous reports on those who did not cooperate magnified individual behaviour into a group label. Second is about exaggerated reporting. Some media intercepted some of the words or actions of the people involved, cut off the overall context to release fragmented images or words, and wrote sensational headlines out of context, deliberately equating some ordinary questions and complaints of Chinese people with disruptive noncooperation. Third is about fictional reports [17]. Some media outlets deliberately consumed people’s anxiety, concocting rumours such as “110,000 people will be parachuted into Beijing in Europe,” “Woman resists quarantine after returning to China and causes a ruckus in hospital,” “Chinese American returns to China for treatment after infection and complains because she has to pay for it herself,” and other rumours. Rumours are often the easiest to appeal to popular sentiment because the narrative structure of the rumour is not framed by the actual events and can be played out as the publisher sees fit. For example, the rumour “complaining at her own expense” is particularly rich in elements, including “having a green card and a privileged life in the US,” “deliberately taking fever-reducing pills before returning home,” and “complaining about the lack of free treatment in China.” The “complaint about the lack of free treatment in the country” is a complete storyline of “opportunism on the wall + disruption in the country.” The media’s deliberate selection and amplification of negative events can easily create a closed space on the Internet for an already anxious and nervous audience, creating an “echo chamber effect” [18], where the audience will unconsciously repeat similar views and continue to reinforce and confirm them through repetition. The media’s portrayal of returnees’ noncooperation with epidemic prevention leads to “collateral stigma,” and the audience’s doubts about the “non-cooperators” expand into doubts and even discrimination against all returnees [19].


### 4.2. Repair

The mainstream media has a more rigorous gate-keeping process than the self-published media and is more rigorous in its reporting. In the era of melting media, mainstream media that previously used newspapers and TV as carriers have opened up online positions and opened accounts on social platforms such as Weibo and WeChat [20] (Figure 5). The integration of mainstream media into the Internet is not only for the sake of an additional publicity window but also to be able to play the “gatekeeper” mechanism by virtue of their professionalism. The “gatekeeper” mechanism does not contradict the self-media “everyone is a microphone” principle: “gatekeeper” is a guide to good public opinion, urging the eradication of lies and facts, eliminating the crude and extracting the refined. We should let everyone become their own “gatekeeper.”Figure 5
Scatter plot of mainstream media.First, the mainstream media can play a gate-keeping role in dispelling rumours. Studies have shown that more than half of all persuasive and influential disinformation is first issued by the traditional media, which is the primary driver of online disinformation. During the epidemic prevention and control period, rumour clarification information involving Chinese people was often issued by provincial mainstream media or national mainstream media on Weibo and WeChat public websites. Mainstream media are more communicative than government agencies, and more authoritative than individuals [21]. Second, the mainstream media can play a gate-keeping role in “framing.” The media will inevitably use “frames” to select and process elements of information in their reporting, and it is likely that two different frames will be used to describe the same event or the same group. In the first half of March, self-published media reported on the return of Chinese people to China, often using the narrative frame of “powerful and opportunistic + disrupting epidemic prevention,” focusing on arrogant words and fierce resistance, and after a short period of intensive narrative overlay, derogatory paragraphs about Chinese people were widely republished, and even individual local TV stations began to disseminate such comments. When such statements were disseminated, it was necessary for the mainstream media to initiate a narrative reframing. As can be seen in Figure 6, the negative image of Chinese people reached its peak on March 17 [22]; on March 18, the client of the People’s Daily Online promptly published the commentary “It is inappropriate to say that they are “the first to throw poison in thousands of miles””; later, “strictly preventing overseas importation requires both strength and temperature”; “returnees should not be demonised”; and “rationalising the view of those who are legally obliged to leave the country.” After that, commentaries such as “a rational view of foreigners who have been given a deadline to leave the country according to the law” and “more tolerance, less tearing” were published one after another on mainstream media online platforms such as Guangming Daily and People’s Daily. These articles have reshaped the narrative framework of the Chinese people, and the subsequent self-published media have basically adopted the narrative and commentary framework of “those who do not cooperate are the minority + most are those who cooperate and help protest,” and the language style is relatively calm and rational. The mainstream media’s “gate-keeping” has, to some extent, curbed the prevalence of online headlines and rumours and prevented extreme reports from continuing to stir up conflicts and tear society apart [23].Figure 6
Emotional changes reported by Chinese people from January 1, 2020, to May 6, 2020.The Internet Web 2.0 era has made it possible for “all people to communicate to all people,” with a proliferation of online platforms, an increasing number of communication subjects, and a dizzying array of messages. Against this backdrop [24], Chinese people during the epidemic prevention and control period presented a diverse online image, from the “dual” image of those fighting the epidemic in their home country and their country of residence to the “dual” image of those being questioned and even discriminated against in their home country and their country of residence. Although the Chinese had a serious negative image crisis on social media in the middle and end of March, the image was quickly repaired by a number of mechanisms [25].Two lessons can be drawn from this process: first, image repair relies on the triple action of “real society—audience,” and cannot only focus on itself, but also on the control of the epidemic and the participation of the audience in the real society. Second, the open online environment is a double-edged sword, and the “self-purification” mechanism of audience participation is working and improving [26]. On the one hand, the rise of new media, especially self-published media, can generate a lot of inaccurate information that is taken out of context, exaggerated, and distorted, which can trigger negative emotions and provoke social confrontation [27]; on the other hand, the Internet is becoming more and more participatory in terms of audience participation, as audiences are both viewers and communicators. By actively speaking out and participating in debates, audiences [27], including Chinese people, can clear up misunderstandings, bridge differences, and activate rational and healthy positive energy. The epidemic is both a danger and an opportunity for the construction of China’s image [28]. During the epidemic prevention and control period, Chinese people actively participated in the prevention and fight against the epidemic in their home countries and their countries of residence, conveying confidence, practising good deeds, and overcoming difficulties together; through online and offline communication [29], they shared experiences, improved understanding, and bridged differences. Through online and offline communication, we share our experiences, improve understanding, and bridge the gap [30].


## 4.1. Generation

In Table3, the image of “noncooperators” who do not comply with the epidemic prevention and control regulations of their home country has a total popularity of 161,125, ranking first. Combined with the hot events of Chinese people during the epidemic prevention and control period, seven of the top 20 events were related to the image of “noncooperators,” and “Australian-Chinese woman who returns to Beijing and refuses to go out for a run in isolation” ranked first among all events with 77,499 messages. The “Australian-Chinese woman refusing to run outside in isolation” ranked first with 77,499 messages [12]. It is clear that the negative image of Chinese people has a profound impact. The reasons for this include the following three factors:Table 3
Heat ranking of Chinese network image.
SortSortSortImageImageImageHeat value (bar)Heat value (bar)Heat value (bar)111Do not cooperate withDo not cooperate withDo not cooperate with161,125161,125161,125222RefugeeRefugeeRefugee149,168149,168149,168333


### 4.1.1. Social Behavioural Factors

During the epidemic control period, the negative image of Chinese people was somewhat “right” and “wrong.” “On the “yes” side, some Chinese people acted in a way that was inconsistent with public order and morals and even laws and regulations when they returned to their home countries to avoid the epidemic. For example, they did not quarantine themselves, did not report in time, deliberately concealed information about their symptoms, and did not report them. Some of them even made violent remarks or behaved in the process of inspection and control. These behaviours form the basic structure of a negative image. However, the social behaviour factor cannot fully explain the negative image, which leads to the “non” side of the story: first, individual Chinese people behaved inappropriately but in an isolated and unlikely manner; second, reports of inappropriate behaviour were exaggerated and misrepresented. This involves the following two factors [13]:


### 4.1.2. Socio-Emotional Factors

Socio-emotional factors also include two aspects: one is the double prevention of the collision of anxiety. In their experiments on the spread of gossip, Anthony and Rosnau pointed out that the “anxiety” factor was directly proportional to the spread of gossip. Since late February/early March 2020, the domestic epidemic has been gradually brought under control, and the overseas epidemic has continued to spread. Some Chinese are anxious because of their lack of confidence in the U.S. epidemic prevention and control. On the other hand, as the situation improved, domestic people were shocked and worried that the epidemic would rebound in China [14]. The more you resist foreigners’ input, the more you want to see news that is not conducive to foreigners’ input. It is very likely that an “information cocoon” will be formed during the epidemic control period, allowing viewers to selectively accept the information they want and gradually create themselves. This is very important. It is possible to form an “information cocoon” during the epidemic control period, and audiences selectively accept the information they want to see, gradually forming a self-imposed “cocoon.” Second, there is accumulated dissatisfaction with the hype of the strong. In the process of classifying rumours, Shi Aidong divides the rumours into a category of “fluffy” rumours that have similar owners and recur on the same themes and structure as long as there are events that can be exploited. A typical rumour of social events is based on the exercise of privilege by the powerful. The people of this country are dissatisfied with the fact that a few people have accumulated raw capital in an inappropriate way and then speculated in the guise of highbrow egoism for greater power and profit. During the period of epidemic prevention and control, some Chinese returned to China to avoid the epidemic, which activated the association of some people in the country with the story of the power elite hyping the story of “eat the east and stay in the west.” In this special period of the epidemic, the story hyped by the power elite has been “resurrected” again [15].


### 4.1.3. Communication Factors

In the Web 1.0 era, information was mainly delivered top-down with websites as the centre, while in the current Web 2.0 era, the web is decentralised and the public can actively participate in creating information. Each online platform is composed of different degrees of information producers, such as organized OGC (professional content production), relatively specialised PGC (professional content production), and individual UGC (user produced content), and information creators of all kinds have more diverse information sources and information presentation methods than traditional media in the past, but rigour and standardisation are seriously lacking. In an era, when the flow is king, public figures and “big V” focus on the number of clicks, retweets, likes, and favorites, all hoping to get a share of the “attention” resources [16]. Against this backdrop, there were several problems with the coverage of Chinese people during the epidemic control period: first is about the amplification of individual incidents. A small number of Chinese returned to China during the epidemic, and a very small number of them did not cooperate with the epidemic, but the continuous reports on those who did not cooperate magnified individual behaviour into a group label. Second is about exaggerated reporting. Some media intercepted some of the words or actions of the people involved, cut off the overall context to release fragmented images or words, and wrote sensational headlines out of context, deliberately equating some ordinary questions and complaints of Chinese people with disruptive noncooperation. Third is about fictional reports [17]. Some media outlets deliberately consumed people’s anxiety, concocting rumours such as “110,000 people will be parachuted into Beijing in Europe,” “Woman resists quarantine after returning to China and causes a ruckus in hospital,” “Chinese American returns to China for treatment after infection and complains because she has to pay for it herself,” and other rumours. Rumours are often the easiest to appeal to popular sentiment because the narrative structure of the rumour is not framed by the actual events and can be played out as the publisher sees fit. For example, the rumour “complaining at her own expense” is particularly rich in elements, including “having a green card and a privileged life in the US,” “deliberately taking fever-reducing pills before returning home,” and “complaining about the lack of free treatment in China.” The “complaint about the lack of free treatment in the country” is a complete storyline of “opportunism on the wall + disruption in the country.” The media’s deliberate selection and amplification of negative events can easily create a closed space on the Internet for an already anxious and nervous audience, creating an “echo chamber effect” [18], where the audience will unconsciously repeat similar views and continue to reinforce and confirm them through repetition. The media’s portrayal of returnees’ noncooperation with epidemic prevention leads to “collateral stigma,” and the audience’s doubts about the “non-cooperators” expand into doubts and even discrimination against all returnees [19].


## 4.1.1. Social Behavioural Factors

During the epidemic control period, the negative image of Chinese people was somewhat “right” and “wrong.” “On the “yes” side, some Chinese people acted in a way that was inconsistent with public order and morals and even laws and regulations when they returned to their home countries to avoid the epidemic. For example, they did not quarantine themselves, did not report in time, deliberately concealed information about their symptoms, and did not report them. Some of them even made violent remarks or behaved in the process of inspection and control. These behaviours form the basic structure of a negative image. However, the social behaviour factor cannot fully explain the negative image, which leads to the “non” side of the story: first, individual Chinese people behaved inappropriately but in an isolated and unlikely manner; second, reports of inappropriate behaviour were exaggerated and misrepresented. This involves the following two factors [13]:


## 4.1.2. Socio-Emotional Factors

Socio-emotional factors also include two aspects: one is the double prevention of the collision of anxiety. In their experiments on the spread of gossip, Anthony and Rosnau pointed out that the “anxiety” factor was directly proportional to the spread of gossip. Since late February/early March 2020, the domestic epidemic has been gradually brought under control, and the overseas epidemic has continued to spread. Some Chinese are anxious because of their lack of confidence in the U.S. epidemic prevention and control. On the other hand, as the situation improved, domestic people were shocked and worried that the epidemic would rebound in China [14]. The more you resist foreigners’ input, the more you want to see news that is not conducive to foreigners’ input. It is very likely that an “information cocoon” will be formed during the epidemic control period, allowing viewers to selectively accept the information they want and gradually create themselves. This is very important. It is possible to form an “information cocoon” during the epidemic control period, and audiences selectively accept the information they want to see, gradually forming a self-imposed “cocoon.” Second, there is accumulated dissatisfaction with the hype of the strong. In the process of classifying rumours, Shi Aidong divides the rumours into a category of “fluffy” rumours that have similar owners and recur on the same themes and structure as long as there are events that can be exploited. A typical rumour of social events is based on the exercise of privilege by the powerful. The people of this country are dissatisfied with the fact that a few people have accumulated raw capital in an inappropriate way and then speculated in the guise of highbrow egoism for greater power and profit. During the period of epidemic prevention and control, some Chinese returned to China to avoid the epidemic, which activated the association of some people in the country with the story of the power elite hyping the story of “eat the east and stay in the west.” In this special period of the epidemic, the story hyped by the power elite has been “resurrected” again [15].


## 4.1.3. Communication Factors

In the Web 1.0 era, information was mainly delivered top-down with websites as the centre, while in the current Web 2.0 era, the web is decentralised and the public can actively participate in creating information. Each online platform is composed of different degrees of information producers, such as organized OGC (professional content production), relatively specialised PGC (professional content production), and individual UGC (user produced content), and information creators of all kinds have more diverse information sources and information presentation methods than traditional media in the past, but rigour and standardisation are seriously lacking. In an era, when the flow is king, public figures and “big V” focus on the number of clicks, retweets, likes, and favorites, all hoping to get a share of the “attention” resources [16]. Against this backdrop, there were several problems with the coverage of Chinese people during the epidemic control period: first is about the amplification of individual incidents. A small number of Chinese returned to China during the epidemic, and a very small number of them did not cooperate with the epidemic, but the continuous reports on those who did not cooperate magnified individual behaviour into a group label. Second is about exaggerated reporting. Some media intercepted some of the words or actions of the people involved, cut off the overall context to release fragmented images or words, and wrote sensational headlines out of context, deliberately equating some ordinary questions and complaints of Chinese people with disruptive noncooperation. Third is about fictional reports [17]. Some media outlets deliberately consumed people’s anxiety, concocting rumours such as “110,000 people will be parachuted into Beijing in Europe,” “Woman resists quarantine after returning to China and causes a ruckus in hospital,” “Chinese American returns to China for treatment after infection and complains because she has to pay for it herself,” and other rumours. Rumours are often the easiest to appeal to popular sentiment because the narrative structure of the rumour is not framed by the actual events and can be played out as the publisher sees fit. For example, the rumour “complaining at her own expense” is particularly rich in elements, including “having a green card and a privileged life in the US,” “deliberately taking fever-reducing pills before returning home,” and “complaining about the lack of free treatment in China.” The “complaint about the lack of free treatment in the country” is a complete storyline of “opportunism on the wall + disruption in the country.” The media’s deliberate selection and amplification of negative events can easily create a closed space on the Internet for an already anxious and nervous audience, creating an “echo chamber effect” [18], where the audience will unconsciously repeat similar views and continue to reinforce and confirm them through repetition. The media’s portrayal of returnees’ noncooperation with epidemic prevention leads to “collateral stigma,” and the audience’s doubts about the “non-cooperators” expand into doubts and even discrimination against all returnees [19].


## 4.2. Repair

The mainstream media has a more rigorous gate-keeping process than the self-published media and is more rigorous in its reporting. In the era of melting media, mainstream media that previously used newspapers and TV as carriers have opened up online positions and opened accounts on social platforms such as Weibo and WeChat [20] (Figure 5). The integration of mainstream media into the Internet is not only for the sake of an additional publicity window but also to be able to play the “gatekeeper” mechanism by virtue of their professionalism. The “gatekeeper” mechanism does not contradict the self-media “everyone is a microphone” principle: “gatekeeper” is a guide to good public opinion, urging the eradication of lies and facts, eliminating the crude and extracting the refined. We should let everyone become their own “gatekeeper.”Figure 5
Scatter plot of mainstream media.First, the mainstream media can play a gate-keeping role in dispelling rumours. Studies have shown that more than half of all persuasive and influential disinformation is first issued by the traditional media, which is the primary driver of online disinformation. During the epidemic prevention and control period, rumour clarification information involving Chinese people was often issued by provincial mainstream media or national mainstream media on Weibo and WeChat public websites. Mainstream media are more communicative than government agencies, and more authoritative than individuals [21]. Second, the mainstream media can play a gate-keeping role in “framing.” The media will inevitably use “frames” to select and process elements of information in their reporting, and it is likely that two different frames will be used to describe the same event or the same group. In the first half of March, self-published media reported on the return of Chinese people to China, often using the narrative frame of “powerful and opportunistic + disrupting epidemic prevention,” focusing on arrogant words and fierce resistance, and after a short period of intensive narrative overlay, derogatory paragraphs about Chinese people were widely republished, and even individual local TV stations began to disseminate such comments. When such statements were disseminated, it was necessary for the mainstream media to initiate a narrative reframing. As can be seen in Figure 6, the negative image of Chinese people reached its peak on March 17 [22]; on March 18, the client of the People’s Daily Online promptly published the commentary “It is inappropriate to say that they are “the first to throw poison in thousands of miles””; later, “strictly preventing overseas importation requires both strength and temperature”; “returnees should not be demonised”; and “rationalising the view of those who are legally obliged to leave the country.” After that, commentaries such as “a rational view of foreigners who have been given a deadline to leave the country according to the law” and “more tolerance, less tearing” were published one after another on mainstream media online platforms such as Guangming Daily and People’s Daily. These articles have reshaped the narrative framework of the Chinese people, and the subsequent self-published media have basically adopted the narrative and commentary framework of “those who do not cooperate are the minority + most are those who cooperate and help protest,” and the language style is relatively calm and rational. The mainstream media’s “gate-keeping” has, to some extent, curbed the prevalence of online headlines and rumours and prevented extreme reports from continuing to stir up conflicts and tear society apart [23].Figure 6
Emotional changes reported by Chinese people from January 1, 2020, to May 6, 2020.The Internet Web 2.0 era has made it possible for “all people to communicate to all people,” with a proliferation of online platforms, an increasing number of communication subjects, and a dizzying array of messages. Against this backdrop [24], Chinese people during the epidemic prevention and control period presented a diverse online image, from the “dual” image of those fighting the epidemic in their home country and their country of residence to the “dual” image of those being questioned and even discriminated against in their home country and their country of residence. Although the Chinese had a serious negative image crisis on social media in the middle and end of March, the image was quickly repaired by a number of mechanisms [25].Two lessons can be drawn from this process: first, image repair relies on the triple action of “real society—audience,” and cannot only focus on itself, but also on the control of the epidemic and the participation of the audience in the real society. Second, the open online environment is a double-edged sword, and the “self-purification” mechanism of audience participation is working and improving [26]. On the one hand, the rise of new media, especially self-published media, can generate a lot of inaccurate information that is taken out of context, exaggerated, and distorted, which can trigger negative emotions and provoke social confrontation [27]; on the other hand, the Internet is becoming more and more participatory in terms of audience participation, as audiences are both viewers and communicators. By actively speaking out and participating in debates, audiences [27], including Chinese people, can clear up misunderstandings, bridge differences, and activate rational and healthy positive energy. The epidemic is both a danger and an opportunity for the construction of China’s image [28]. During the epidemic prevention and control period, Chinese people actively participated in the prevention and fight against the epidemic in their home countries and their countries of residence, conveying confidence, practising good deeds, and overcoming difficulties together; through online and offline communication [29], they shared experiences, improved understanding, and bridged differences. Through online and offline communication, we share our experiences, improve understanding, and bridge the gap [30].


## 5. Conclusion

In the era of new media, especially self-media, during the Newcastle epidemic prevention and control period, the image of China in Chinese social media presents a variety of images, not only “the beauty of the country” but also the country of the country. The place of residence to fight and prevent the epidemic has formed a “dual” image of the questioned person and even the questioned person in their own country and the country of residence. This study explores the construction of China’s image in the context of major public health events such as Newcastle disease by capturing Chinese social media data during the epidemic prevention and control period., WeChat, Zhihu, Baidu Tie, and the other four major social media platforms capture big data from January 1, 2020, to May 2020. According to studies, image restoration is dependent on the combined action of three actual society-audience, variables, and the three are crucial. At the same time, there will be a lot of exaggerations and inaccurate information in the present free Internet environment. At the same time, in the current open Internet environment, there will also be a lot of exaggeration and false information. All in all, MIC is a “danger” and an “opportunity” for China’s image.



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*Source: 4886188-2022-06-10.xml*