Fostering positive public sentiments during pandemic outbreaks: Evidence from Weibo posts in China (Preprint)

Abstract

Since the 20th century, the world has witnessed increasingly frequent pandemics, with new viruses outpacing human knowledge. Beyond the lethality of the virus itself, there is growing consensus that its associated psychological distress can be deadlier for most of the public.

This study aimed to elucidate the affective trajectories observed among the populace in China and ascertain the degree to which governmental policy frameworks influence public mental health during an outbreak.

To achieve this, an analysis encompassing 182,335 Weibo posts related to COVID-19, comprising original compositions and shared blogs, disseminated between January 1 and May 31, 2020, across 13 Chinese cities, was conducted. The bidirectional long short-term memory (Bi-LSTM) deep learning semantic model was deployed to discern the prevailing emotional tendencies manifest in these Weibo posts.

One significant observation is the notable upswing in positive public sentiment observed during the acute crisis phase, aligning with the extensive implementation of strict community quarantines across diverse regions in China. In light of these remarkable findings, our analysis discloses that individuals’ fears regarding the virus and the detrimental consequences of quarantine measures experienced a considerable alleviation due to the rapid and well-coordinated COVID-19 response regime.

The policy framework characterized by shared objectives, robust institutional cohesion, and widespread social mobilization notably influenced and molded positive public attitudes toward the COVID-19 pandemic.