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How the Chinese public makes decisions about controversial technologies: A case study on GMOs

A number of events in China in recent years have been characterized by tensions or controversies between scientists and the public, such as the p-Xylene chemical project in Xiamen, nuclear energy projects, and genetic engineering. Scientists tend to attribute such conflict to inadequate public knowledge of science, leading to misunderstandings about it. However, that view ignores the influence on public perceptions of news reports and online discussions about controversial technologies in new media. Social media reporting affects the audience's perception of the risks posed by controversial technologies and can cause people to lose confidence in the scientific community and damage their trust in government. Thus, the public opposes these technologies. In this context, this study explores the relationship between the public's trust in the scientific community and the government on the one hand and its attitude towards controversial technologies on the other. I surveyed 1,235 people using a national online probability sampling strategy. I found that people's use of new media was significantly related to the extent of their knowledge of specific controversial technologies and was associated with other people's opinions about those technologies. The more attention people paid to WeChat coverage of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), the more supportive they were of them. Thus, the public's use of new media is a key factor in predicting its positive attitude to GMOs. Scientific literacy also significantly affects public attitudes to GMOs, directly as well as indirectly.