Agenda Setting, Framing, and International Relations: A Thematic Analysis of RussiaToday's and Xinhua News' Coverage of the United States on Social Media

This study seeks to identify, understand, and compare the themes created by Russian and Chinese state-run media online in their framing of the United States. The study will compare the Facebook posts made by a Russian news agency and a Chinese news agency: RussiaToday and Xinhua News, respectively. The study incorporates agenda-setting, framing theory, and previous research to understand the themes present in the coverage of the United States during 2020. Additionally, the lengthy history of Russian and Chinese malign influence toward the United States, combined with the immediate nature of social media creates a unique opportunity for understanding the intersection between communication processes and international relations in the 21st Century. A total of 100 Facebook posts were collected from CrowdTangle and analyzed using a software intended for qualitative data analysis to compare the frames that exist in the selected content. The findings reveal four major topics of importance that Russia and China primarily use to frame the United States. Additionally, the frames depicted in the social media posts were compared and examined. The findings reveal that in 2020 Russia and China overwhelmingly framed the United States in a negative light by describing the United States as an enemy and by highlighting American failures. However, some positive framing – though rare – also occurred by describing the United States as an ally and by emphasizing American successes. Lastly, the findings are consistent with previous research that indicates Russia and China craft specific, tailored narratives about the United States in the pursuit of national interests. The results of this study indicate that Russia and China capitalize on polarizing events to sow discord within American society. In general, this study has the potential to provide information that can be useful for multiple government agencies in identifying counter-messaging opportunities online.

Name thesis:degree_name

MACOM

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Communication

Department dc:contributor.department

Communication

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Tech

Year dc:date.issued

2022

Author dc:creator

• Whitley, Hayden O.

Chair dc:contributor.committeechair

• Horning, Michael A.

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Mielczarek, Natalia
• Logan, Nneka

• agenda setting
• framing
• thematic analysis
• international relations
• social media

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language.iso

en

Dc Identifier Other

vt_gsexam:35041

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/110847