“Fake news” has become a global issue over the past few years. And it has displayed
some new characteristics in the digital age. Based on focus group interview and
online survey (N=291) targeting at university students from Mainland China, this
study explored how news users in China conceptualize and operationalize “fake
news” and how they authenticate a news item when feeling puzzled. We found
that the Chinese audiences actually understood “fake news” in a much broader
way, which was also different from that in the western contexts in some aspects.
In terms of perception, we proposed a conceptual framework consisting of three
dimensions, fact, presentation, and intention, to explain the perceived “fakeness”
of a news item. Regarding audiences’ act of authentication, we identified two major
approaches, relying on one’s own knowledge base and seeking for more relevant
information outside of the journalistic texts. And we also elaborated in detail on
these two approaches.