Signal Cost in Digital Diplomacy: A Study of American and Chinese Public Outreach
In: The Hague Journal of DiplomacySearch for other papers by Di Wu in
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Summary
This study looks at how digital technologies disrupted signalling and signal cost calculations in public diplomacy within the context of Covid-19. The pandemic presented a noteworthy opportunity to observe how countries attempt to navigate a relatively unknown communication landscape as a result of external shock and a crisis for states’ images and reputations. We position the communicative outcomes of the pandemic as an exploratory case to discuss how countries use social media to engage with target audiences. We study American and Chinese messaging on Twitter about Covid-19 employing an analytical model of signal cost developed from signalling theory. Using a data set of 1,512 tweets coming from nine different American and Chinese accounts, we investigated their signal cost through content and network analyses. Our findings describe and operationalise signal cost in digital public diplomacy through signaller, signal content and outreach.
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| Abstract Views | 602 | 336 | 15 |
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Signal Cost in Digital Diplomacy: A Study of American and Chinese Public Outreach
In: The Hague Journal of DiplomacySearch for other papers by Di Wu in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Efe Sevin in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Summary
This study looks at how digital technologies disrupted signalling and signal cost calculations in public diplomacy within the context of Covid-19. The pandemic presented a noteworthy opportunity to observe how countries attempt to navigate a relatively unknown communication landscape as a result of external shock and a crisis for states’ images and reputations. We position the communicative outcomes of the pandemic as an exploratory case to discuss how countries use social media to engage with target audiences. We study American and Chinese messaging on Twitter about Covid-19 employing an analytical model of signal cost developed from signalling theory. Using a data set of 1,512 tweets coming from nine different American and Chinese accounts, we investigated their signal cost through content and network analyses. Our findings describe and operationalise signal cost in digital public diplomacy through signaller, signal content and outreach.
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 602 | 336 | 15 |
| Full Text Views | 222 | 20 | 1 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 437 | 49 | 2 |
