Framing Corruption in the Chinese Government: A Comparison of Frames Between Media, Government, and Netizens

Abstract

The use of microblogging sites has increasingly posed a challenge to the Chinese Communist Party’s ability to manipulate information and control its reputation in the face of malfeasance. Going beyond individual cases, this article uses framing theory and content analysis to examine and compare the four primary functions of frames employed by the news media, government, and netizens on the topic of government corruption. Results show partial differences in frames between netizens, government, and news media.