A Study on Contextual Negative Adaptation of Online Rumors from a Pragmatic Perspective

Abstract

Based on the pragmatic theory of Linguistic Adaptation, this study focuses on the phenomenon of contextual “negative adaptation” in the dissemination of online rumors. By analyzing the strategic exploitation of contextual factors by rumor makers, it reveals how they proactively set pragmatic traps to achieve misleading propagation. The research finds that the widespread dissemination of online rumors stems from the precise negative adaptation to the channel of transmition and to the three dimensions of the communicative context: the physical world, the social world, and the mental world. Specifically, rumor makers create a false sense of urgency through spatiotemporal proximization, graft onto belief systems and social discourses to incite collective emotions, and systematically adapt to the multi-layered needs and motivations of the host. This study may deepen the understanding of the intrinsic pragmatic mechanisms underlying online rumor propagation and provide theoretical support from a pragmatic perspective for identifying their pragmatic traps and constructing effective prevention and control systems.