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Representations of 5G in the Chinese and British press: a corpus-assisted critical discourse analysis

Humanities and Social Sciences Communications · 2024 · Unclear · Insufficient evidence

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Using corpus-assisted critical discourse analysis, the study identified four thematic categories in 5G representations. It reports that the Chinese press more often depicts 5G positively as trustworthy/beneficial and emphasizes China’s support for 5G developm…

Study snapshot

PublicationHumanities and Social Sciences Communications · 2024
Study typeother
Reported directionUnclear
Evidence ratingInsufficient

Abstract

Representations of 5G in the Chinese and British press: a corpus-assisted critical discourse analysis Pei, J., Cheng, L. Representations of 5G in the Chinese and British press: a corpus-assisted critical discourse analysis. Humanit Soc Sci Commun 11, 400 (2024). doi.org 02896-8 Abstract This study employs a corpus-assisted critical discourse analysis to demystify the dominant patterns of representations around 5G in the Chinese and British press. Keyword analyses identify four thematic categories around the representation of 5G: the nature of 5G, social actors in 5G discourse, actions around 5G and timing in 5G discourse. Findings suggest that the Chinese press tends to use positive evaluative expressions to depict 5G as a trustworthy and beneficial issue and stress China’s strong support for 5G development. In contrast, the British press prefers to frame 5G as a product of geopolitical rivalry and an issue with scientific uncertainties and controversies by repeatedly employing negative language patterns related to 5G risks and conspiracy theories. Besides, a subtle but varying “self versus other” schema is constructed by the two presses. The Chinese press is inclined to use positive predication strategies to construct a positive self-representation, whereas the British press tends to adopt negative predication strategies to portray China as an outgroup and meanwhile use scapegoating strategies to profile Britain as a positive self by using recurrent patterns denoting the pressure exerted on Britain by the United States. Such differences could result from their journalistic ideologies and values and the contrasting socio-political contexts where the two presses are situated. Open access paper: nature.com

Machine Enhanced Logic

AI evidence extraction

Structured fields below were generated from the paper’s abstract and metadata to make the evidence easier to inspect. Automated extraction may be incomplete or incorrect; verify important details against the original paper.

Study typeother
Effect directionunclear
PopulationNot supplied
Sample sizeNot supplied
ExposureRF
Evidence strengthInsufficientConfidence: 74% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

Using corpus-assisted critical discourse analysis, the study identified four thematic categories in 5G representations. It reports that the Chinese press more often depicts 5G positively as trustworthy/beneficial and emphasizes China’s support for 5G development, while the British press more often frames 5G in terms of geopolitical rivalry and scientific uncertainties/controversies, including repeated negative language patterns about 5G risks and conspiracy theories.

Outcomes measured

  • Media representations/framing of 5G in Chinese vs British press
  • Themes in 5G discourse (nature of 5G, social actors, actions, timing)
  • Use of evaluative language (positive/negative) and predication/scapegoating strategies
  • Framing of scientific uncertainty, controversies, risks, and conspiracy theories related to 5G
View raw extracted JSON
{
  "study_type": "other",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "RF",
    "source": "5G",
    "frequency_mhz": null,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": null
  },
  "population": null,
  "sample_size": null,
  "outcomes": [
    "Media representations/framing of 5G in Chinese vs British press",
    "Themes in 5G discourse (nature of 5G, social actors, actions, timing)",
    "Use of evaluative language (positive/negative) and predication/scapegoating strategies",
    "Framing of scientific uncertainty, controversies, risks, and conspiracy theories related to 5G"
  ],
  "main_findings": "Using corpus-assisted critical discourse analysis, the study identified four thematic categories in 5G representations. It reports that the Chinese press more often depicts 5G positively as trustworthy/beneficial and emphasizes China’s support for 5G development, while the British press more often frames 5G in terms of geopolitical rivalry and scientific uncertainties/controversies, including repeated negative language patterns about 5G risks and conspiracy theories.",
  "effect_direction": "unclear",
  "limitations": [],
  "evidence_strength": "insufficient",
  "confidence": 0.74,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "5G",
    "Chinese press",
    "British press",
    "corpus-assisted critical discourse analysis",
    "critical discourse analysis",
    "media framing",
    "geopolitical rivalry",
    "scientific uncertainty",
    "controversy",
    "risk",
    "conspiracy theories"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "5g-policy",
      "weight": 0.6,
      "reason": "Focuses on press discourse and framing around 5G, including geopolitical rivalry and risk/controversy narratives."
    }
  ]
}
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AI-extracted fields are generated from the abstract and metadata and may be incomplete or incorrect. This material is for informational purposes and is not medical advice.

Identifiers and source

DOI: 10.1057/s41599-024
PubMed: Not supplied

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