Orders of discourse and the ecosystem of rumour management on WeChat

This study investigated the symbolic meanings and cultural implications of rumour management practices on WeChat through the lens of rumour management as the exertion of power in maintaining and challenging the order of discourse. Through a digital ethnographic approach, the study identified the actors that debunk rumours on WeChat. Debunking rumours does not remove all the visibility of a rumour text; instead, some parts of the rumour content have to be exposed and then recontextualised to a new discourse in which it is refuted. Rumours on WeChat also cover event-based false information, debatable institutionalised knowledge and perceived false political claims from China’s ideological opponents in international politics. To control the spread of rumours is therefore more than distinguishing truth from false, but involves meta-discursive practices to assert the truth by different professional groups and the dominant political power in China. The study contributes to a critical understanding of the rumour ecology on WeChat.