Abstract
We studied the relationship between Facebook advertisements from Chinese state media on the global media environment by examining the link between advertisements and online news coverage of China by other countries. We found that countries that see a large increase in views of Facebook advertisement from Chinese state media also see news coverage of China become more positive. News coverage also becomes more likely to use keywords that suggest a point of view favorable to China. One possible explanation is that by drawing greater attention to the issues emphasized by Chinese state media, the advertisements help Chinese state media set the news agenda covered by other media sources.
Highlights
Is increased exposure to Chinese state media Facebook ads within a country associated with changes in the tone of news coverage of China?
We analyzed the relationship between Chinese state media Facebook advertisements and coverage of China in news articles from around the world published between 2018 and 2020
We found that Facebook advertisements from Chinese state media are linked to changes in the tone and content of news reporting on China
Summary
Is increased exposure to Chinese state media Facebook ads within a country associated with changes in the tone of news coverage of China?. Is increased exposure to Chinese state media Facebook ads within a country associated with changes in the content of news coverage of China?. Do the changes linked to exposure to Chinese state media ads decrease after Facebook’s adoption of labels indicating that an advertisement is from state-controlled media?. We analyzed the relationship between Chinese state media Facebook advertisements and coverage of China in news articles from around the world published between 2018 and 2020. We measured the number of times all Facebook advertisements from Chinese state media Facebook pages were shown on screens in over 100 countries from 2018 to 2020
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
