This study examines the third-person effects of COVID-19 news among Wuhan residents during the peak of the outbreaks in the city. Using data collected in a telephone survey of 1,071 Wuhan residents, results show that respondents believed others were more influenced by the COVID-19 news. However, the more the respondents systematically processed the news through elaboration and the more they were oriented toward collectivist values, the smaller the self-other perceptual gap. Finally, results suggest the moderating effect of collectivism on the relationship between perceived effects of COVID news and altruistic behavior—collectivism enhances the influence of perceived effects on others on adoption of altruistic behavior. The influence of culture in shaping risk perception and behavioral responses is discussed.

The current study is a content analysis of international economic news about Chinese outward foreign direct investment in Latin American countries from corresponding Latin American newspapers. We studied the portrayal of Chinese outward foreign direct investment among 14 different Latin American newspapers. The study aims at illustrating differences between newspaper portrayals of Chinese outward foreign direct investment in the region, with a special focus on the possible factors that influence the editorial selection of relevant news frames on international economic news. We found that the use of conflict and economic consequence frames corresponds to the editorial distinct focuses on either geopolitical interpretations or economic interpretations of international economic news in the case of Chinese outward foreign direct investment in Latin America. We also found attitudes and perspectives adopted in the portrayals are different both on a national basis and on an editorial basis.

Whether they know it or not, the legal rights and responsibilities of users of websites and services, including social media, are defined and controlled by the terms of service of these online service providers. But despite the importance of these provisions, studies have shown that users rarely review terms of service, or think about their meaning. This study took advantage of a major website’s “simplification” of its terms of service to determine whether the changed language increased users’ understanding of the intended meaning of the terms of service. Using the Elaboration Likelihood Model, we evaluate the effectiveness of simplification of terms of service as a method to encourage users’ understanding on these terms.

This study compares the news media’s visual framing of the Los Angeles Riots of 1992 and the Ferguson, Missouri, riots of 2014. A visual content analysis of 387 news images published in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune and Atlanta Journal-Constitution was conducted. Results show that newspapers’ visual portrayals of civil unrest have shifted focus from the confrontation between protesters and the police to an emphasis on the depiction of morality, human interest and civil emotions.