Analysis of the transmission of international breaking news on social media platforms from the perspective of Tipping point Theory -- Taking the assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as an example

Abstract

Malcolm Gladwell's "Tipping Point" theory has been widely used in analyzing epidemic phenomena since its inception. The theory's core is the three laws of popularity: the law of the few, the stickiness factor, and the context power. Previous studies have proved the explanatory power in the context of Internet communication. On July 8, 2020, former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated in Nara. The incident spread rapidly on Weibo and became a phenomenon. This paper introduces the Tipping Point theory and studies the case to summarize the mechanism and principle of international flash news dissemination on social media platforms and explore the experience and enlightenment for future communication. What is discovered is that with the dissemination of international breaking news on social media, the "mavens" journalists shift from the frontstage to the backfield, forming a "journalist-news organization" mechanism with both "mavens" and "connectors" roles, which directly triggers the epidemic. Influencers with a considerable fan base work as salesmen, forming a communication mechanism where "salesmen" take the center and spread out, and new salesmen appear at key nodes to continue to spread, which has the possibility of continuously exploding. The research on the "stickiness" of events discovered that the content framework and dynamic reporting mode combining photographs or videos with text could help increase users' attention to news events and spread enthusiasm. The study of context power found that the objective social environment greatly influences the spread of events, directly affecting the public's sensitivity to events.