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The 14th Dalai Lama’s Image on Western and Chinese Social Media



Author(s)

Mao Wei

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DOI:10.17265/2160-6579/2016.07.004

Tsinghua University, Beijing, China

With China’s rising status and the increasing of media exposures on Tibet issues, the 14th Dalai Lama’s image studies have become a heated research topic in communication studies. China is the most-frequently studied nation in Asian mass communication research. The past the 14th Dalai Lama’s image studies mainly focus on Western mainstream newspapers, due to the fact that these newspapers are well established and frequently read by policy-makers and other influential individuals. In recent years, “Social media” has become a new buzzword. Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Weibo etc. have made a considerable impact on contemporary life. What is the 14th Dalai Lama’s image as it is represented via Western social media? Do Western social media publish the 14th Dalai Lama’s different contents, from a different perspective, or in a different way from that of the standard Western mainstream news outlets? Are there any differences between the image of the 14th Dalai Lama on Western social media and on mainstream media? What are differences between the image of the 14th Dalai Lama on Western and Chinese social media when discussing the same event or topic? The research aims to answer these questions the 14th Dalai Lama; Western social media; Chinese social media.

Dalai Lama, Tibet, Chinese social media, Western social media