Читать книгу An Introduction to Intercultural Communication - Fred E. Jandt - Страница 116

Perceptions of the status of animals vary across the world. However, people can use social media channels to influence those interpretations. The director of the International Fund for Animal Welfare has said that the use of social media in China has grown substantially to protest incidents of animal cruelty. Several animal rights groups amassed 11 million signatures on a petition calling for the cancellation of the dogmeat festival in Yulin, China, and one anti-cruelty message was retweeted 34,000 times by users of Weibo. Celebrities support the protests as well. Actress Sun Li and singer-actress Yang Mi posted on Weibo. In one post, a dog sheds a red tear, saying, “Please don’t eat us. We’re your friends.” Public opinion has turned against the festivals.

Sources: Kaiman (2017); Linshi (2016); Makinen (2013).