Introduction

Modern societies face significant challenges in both understanding and communicating scientific risks. This introduction lays the conceptual foundation for examining how GMO risk discourses are socially constructed and disseminated within China’s digital ecosystem. It traces the shift from objectivist risk paradigms to constructionist approaches that recognize not only the material reality of hazards but also their social interpretation. The chapter highlights two central dynamics in contemporary risk discourse: (1) the tension between expert and lay knowledge systems in framing and interpreting technological risks, and (2) the transformation of science communication from deficit models toward more participatory forms of engagement. These dynamics are situated within China’s unique sociopolitical context, where social media has simultaneously democratized public participation in scientific controversies and generated new challenges for effective risk communication. Using GMO controversies in China as a focal point, this introductory chapter outlines two interconnected sets of research questions pursued throughout the book, concerning the social construction/production of GMO risk narratives and their diffusion. It also provides a brief overview of the chapters that follow.