Research Stories

People in Mainland China who learn about local corruption through gossip and rumours consider the problem to be much worse than those who get their news from the mainstream media. But government propaganda is proving effective at counteracting the effect.

Corruption is an undermining force in any society. It diminishes people's trust in their government and can even threaten the legitimacy of a regime. Yet surveys have found that while corruption is perceived as a major problem in such places as China, Mexico and Russia, relatively few people have direct experience of it. What, then, is influencing public opinion?

Dr Zhu Jiangnan, Assistant Professor of Politics and Public Administration, and her colleagues have been studying the case in China, focusing on the 2002 Asian Barometer Survey I (ABSI) of more than 3,000 residents that found nearly 40 per cent thought corruption in local governments was serious but only about 20 per cent had personal experience of it. One of the reasons for the discrepancy was the source of information.

"In societies without a guaranteed free flow of information," says Dr Zhu, "people tend to seek information from unofficial sources such as grapevine rumours and gossip. These sources often provide information that their regime does not want to be circulated but they also tend to exaggerate the reality of an issue."

"On the other hand, in China those who only get their information from formal sources such as newspapers tend to have a less severe perception of corruption. The coexistence of controlled mass media and grapevine news therefore generates some complex but fascinating dynamics in shaping people’s perceptions of corruption."

"Tactical propaganda can help to prolong the Chinese Communist Party's regime through selective reporting about corruption cases."

Dr Zhu Jiangnan

The full version of this article was originally published in Bulletin. Please click here to view this HKU publication.