This study documents the dynamics of changing social representations of the COVID-19 pandemic on one of the largest Chinese social media, Weibo, from December 2019 to April 2020. We analyzed a dataset of 40 million COVID-19 related posts from 9.7 million users (including the general public, opinion leaders, and organizations) using machine learning methods. We identified 12 topics and found an expansion in social representations of COVID-19 from a clinical and epidemiological perspective to a broader perspective that integrated personal illness experiences with economic and sociopolitical discourses.

Chen, A., Zhang, J., Liao, W., Luo, C., Shen, C., & Feng, B. (2022). Multiplicity and Dynamics of Social Representations of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Chinese Social Media from 2019 to 2020. Information Processing & Management, 102990.https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306457322001054?casa_token=fQFh814-DYoAAAAA:AgpEpMgwq86ANciCKMQVAn62KkxAw6xzSEEU7fH-ix2d5rcEkidVSWNx5iaKq0WlJKe_9s2Rdf0