Some emotional, irrational negative public opinions and misleading inflammatory guidance on the Internet have adversely affected the government. At present, effectively guiding and handling negative online public opinions to ensure a sound public opinion orientation has become an important issue in the crisis management of local governments.

Measures for local governments to guide and handle online public opinion are as follows:

1. Enhance crisis awareness and protect the public’s right to information

Some local governments pay insufficient attention to online public opinion, which often leads to a passive situation when public opinion crises occur. Therefore, local governments need to maintain vigilance and strengthen their awareness of online public opinion crises. They should open up administrative affairs, safeguard the public’s right to information, provide the public with truthful information they want to know, reduce doubts, and improve public trust in the government.

2. Establish official online platforms to realize interaction between the government and the people

In addition to making government affairs public, a communication platform between the government and the people is necessary so that the public can talk with the government on an equal footing. This requires the establishment of official online platforms to facilitate interaction between the government and the public. The platforms should update information in a timely manner to ensure the public can access authoritative information accurately and promptly, meeting their demand for government information.

3. Respond jointly with online media and traditional media

When facing crises caused by online complaints, responses should be timely, proactive rather than passive, and sensational guidance should be properly managed. Local governments can leverage the power of media by cooperating with online and traditional media to disclose information on hot social issues in a timely manner. Persuasive articles can be published online or in mainstream media to clarify public doubts, properly guide the trend of public opinion, and resolve crises.

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