Media coverage and public perceptions of the THAAD event in China, the United States, and South Korea: a cross-national network agenda-setting study

Based on original data gathered from China, the United States, and South Korea, this study explores the relationship between media representations and public opinions concerning the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in South Korea. Further, this study validates the network agenda-setting (NAS) model in multiple social contexts. This study’s supportive results confirm the NAS effects on both implicit and explicit public agendas, further expanding current NAS research. From a cross-nationally comparative perspective, this study investigates how NAS effects vary across countries, which is particularly important in the age of globalization, offering valuable contributions to an improved understanding of the NAS model. The study’s findings illustrate substantial differences between media agendas and variations in the NAS effects across countries, providing empirical evidence of national traits as potential contingent agenda-setting conditions.