The Impact of Personalized News on the War Risk Perception of Taiwan's Military

• In Event: China and Taiwan in the News

Abstract

Personalized storytelling serves as a powerful tool in communication, especially when addressing complex or unfamiliar topics, such as "war risk," a pressing issue faced by Taiwan. The outbreak of the Ukraine-Russia war in 2022 has made "Today Ukraine, Tomorrow Taiwan" a common slogan among the Taiwanese. This study explores different "narrative story formats" from the Ukraine-Russia war to understand how personalized news narratives impact the "risk acceptance," "policy support," and "behavioral tendencies" of the Republic of China Marine Corps personnel. Additionally, it investigates the mediating effects of "risk perception" and emotions on personnel. The study aims to select 175 officers and soldiers from the 66th Marine Brigade, Third Battalion, for experimentation, utilizing photos related to the "Bucha Massacre" from the Associated Press during the Ukraine-Russia war as manipulation materials. The hypotheses to be tested include the expectation that, compared to non-personalized stories, personalized news stories about the Bucha Massacre will increase audience cognitive and emotional responses, including perceived pain, anger, and empathy. This, in turn, is expected to enhance military personnel's war risk perception, influencing subsequent "risk acceptance," "policy support," and "behavioral tendencies." This research is anticipated to contribute to both academic and practical aspects by extending the study of personalized news stories from topics like climate change, environmental protection, or refugees to war news coverage. On a practical level, the study aims to inform military media and propaganda units on effective ways to enhance military personnel's risk perception and resistance intentions through different descriptions of war suffering in experimental media.

Author

• Shu-An Yang, Ministry of National Defense R.O.C.