Hong Kong Media's Coverage of Political Polarization and its Effects on People's Political Attitudes and Behaviors

Background:

Hong Kong is currently experiencing an unprecedented level of political polarization, with individuals holding different political views clashing and being unlikely to engage in civil and rational discussions. In order to foster a healthy and active citizenship, it is crucial to promote mutual respect, informed dialogue, and deliberation. Previous studies have shown that news coverage worldwide has increasingly focused on political polarization, often using a conflict frame that highlights uncivil discourse and the absence of compromise among different political factions. While this type of coverage may attract public attention, it can also have unintended effects on political attitudes and behaviors. Individuals may feel that their political beliefs are being challenged in an intolerant society, leading them to become more entrenched in their views, less tolerant of opposing opinions, and less willing to collaborate with civic organizations that represent different political groups. This can result in a higher level of polarization and a tendency to only engage in political actions that align with their own beliefs.

Research Questions:

This project aims to answer two main questions: First, how does the news media in Hong Kong cover political conflicts? Second, to what extent and through what psychological mechanisms does such media coverage influence people's political attitudes, civic engagement, and political participation?

Data and Methods:

The project consists of two studies. The first study involves a content analysis of news articles on political conflicts published in local Hong Kong newspapers from 2010 to 2020 (n = 965). This analysis examines the presence of different conflict frames, such as political attacks and political incivility among political actors. The second study is a population-based online survey experiment conducted in Hong Kong (n = 1065). This study draws on the theory of psychological reactance and examines how factors related to the source (e.g., communication channels) and content (e.g., partisanship of the informants involved in the conflict and level of polarization) of news stories influence people's engagement with the news, political attitudes, and public engagement. The project focuses on three specific issues that have sparked public debates: housing problems, immigrant rights, and the legality of same-sex marriage.

Results:

The content analysis reveals that nearly one-third of the news stories analyzed contain some form of incivility when reporting on political conflicts. The survey experiment shows that people respond differently to messages depending on the source. People perceive less threat to their freedom when messages are suggested by social media recommendation algorithms, while sponsored messages have the most negative communication effects. The study finds limited evidence that the partisanship of news sources elicits emotional responses. It also finds that perceived threats to freedom trigger reactance, leading to a greater perception of polarization and attitude polarization. However, the effects of polarization on public engagement are limited.

Implications:

This project provides valuable insights into how the news media can offer an informed and balanced representation of the political situation in Hong Kong. It also identifies effective communication tactics to reduce reactance and polarization. Additionally, the project offers guidance for designing communication messages, both online and offline, as well as educational campaigns that foster constructive communication channels among individuals with differing political viewpoints.