舆论战是国家间博弈的重要组成部分。在舆论战中取得优势，塑造良好的国家形象，更是关系到一国的长期高质量发展。在2020年爆发的新冠疫情期间，以美国为代表的西方国家针对疫情来源、治疗措施以及防控手段等议题对我国发起了舆论战，通过知名媒体的报道塑造负面的中国国家形象，影响了我国的海外声誉。因此，对中美疫情舆论战的研究有着强烈的现实意义。《纽约时报》的涉华报道在此期间扮演着重要的角色。疫情期间，我国国家形象被其扭曲为新冠疫情的发源地和所谓“不尊重人权”的国家，并由此将疫情导致的各类问题转嫁于中国。将传播学5W模式的分析维度同马克思主义的分析方法相结合，能够更清晰地发现《纽约时报》为塑造负面中国国家形象，在报道类别、网络传播渠道、纸刊版面设置和报道记者的选择上都经过了精心处理，并运用了在话语上制造负面关联、捏造“党民分离”叙事、渲染中国威胁和攻击社会主义制度的手法，来达到损害我国国家形象与对我国进行意识形态渗透的目的。导致《纽约时报》对我国发起舆论战的原因较多，其中离不开西方中心论的影响、东西方意识形态冲突和零和博弈思维的驱动。在应对舆论战时，我国暴露了目前对外传播体系的部分薄弱之处，如应对舆论攻势的能力较弱、难以主动把握议程设置的先机，以及缺少设计严密的舆论宣传体系和对国内网络舆论的及时引导。基于马克思主义的立场与分析方法，研究认为，我国有关部门和媒体需要提升对信息的掌控能力，在积极沟通中减少外国民众对我国的错误认知，提升商业新媒体的竞争力并强化本土话语与西方对话的能力。将舆论战纳入传播学与马克思主义的跨学科视野中，不仅能够更加深入地分析中美舆论战的本质，更有助于我国在新的历史方位上获得有关提升对外传播能力与塑造良好国家形象的经验借鉴。
Public opinion warfare is an important part of the game between countries. Gaining advantages in the public opinion warfare and shaping a good national image are related to a country’s long-term development of high quality. During the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Western countries represented by the United States launched a public opinion warfare against China on issues such as the source of the pandemic, treatment measures, and prevention and control measures, and created a negative image of China through the reports of well-known medias, which has seriously affected the national interests of China. Therefore, the research on the Sino-US pandemic public opinion warfare has strong practical significance.The New York Times’ China-related reports played an important role during this period. During the pandemic, China’s national image was distorted as the source of COVID-19 and a country that so-called “disrespecting human rights”, and thus transferred various problems caused by the pandemic to China. Combining the analysis dimension of the 5W model of communication with the research method of theory of Marxism, it is possible to clearly find that The New York Times has created a negative image of China in terms of the careful selection of reporting categories, online communication channels, print layouts and the choice of reporters. And the methods used by The New York Times are creating negative associations in discourse, fabricating the narrative of “separation of the Communist Party and Chinese people”, exaggerating the threat of China and attacking the socialist system, aiming to achieve the purpose of damaging our country's national image and infiltrating China’s ideology.There are many reasons for The New York Times to launch a public opinion warfare against China, which cannot be separated from the stereotype of Western centrism, the ideological conflict between the East and the West, and the drive of zero-sum game thinking pattern. In dealing with the public opinion warfare, our country has exposed some of the weaknesses of the current external communication system, such as the weak ability to respond to public opinion offensives, the difficulty in taking the initiative to grasp the opportunities of agenda setting, and the lack of a well-designed public opinion propaganda system and the lack of timely guidance of domestic online public opinion. Based on the Marxist stand and analysis method, the study believes that relevant departments and media in China need to improve their ability to control information, reduce foreign people’s misunderstanding of China through active communication, enhance the competitiveness of new commercial media and strengthen local discourse ability to dialogue with the West. Incorporating public opinion warfare into the interdisciplinary vision of communication studies and Marxism theory can not only analyze the nature of Sino-US public opinion warfare more deeply, but also help our country to obtain relevant information on improving external communication capabilities in a new historical position, and gain experience for reference on shaping a good national image.
