Current Status and Trends in Rumor Governance: A Visual Analysis based on CiteSpace

[Purpose/Significance] With the advent of the 5G era and the rapid development of the internet, the speed and modes of rumor dissemination have continuously evolved. This study employs bibliometric methods to conduct a systematic review and visual analysis of scholarly articles on rumor governance, aiming to clarify the research landscape, key features, hotspots, and future directions in this field. [Methods/Process] Utilizing data from the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and Web of Science (WoS) core databases, this study applies CiteSpace, a bibliometric analysis tool, to examine publication trends, highly cited authors, prolific researchers, keyword co-occurrence patterns, and thematic clusters from60 2012 to 2024. [Results/Conclusion] The findings indicate that foreign researchers exhibit high publication productivity and strong collaborative networks, whereas domestic researchers are relatively dispersed with weaker cooperative ties. Keyword co-occurrence and cluster analysis reveal that domestic research predominantly focuses on the practical implementation of governance strategies, emphasizing macro-level frameworks such as "collaborative governance," and primarily employing qualitative methodologies to propose policy recommendations and localized practices. In contrast, international studies prioritize the universality of communication models, utilizing quantitative methods and model construction to examine the micro-level mechanisms influencing individual behavior and collective emotions. Future research should integrate the contextual depth of case studies with the generalizability of quantitative models to explore user psychology, the long-term societal impacts of rumors, and the role of legal frameworks in rumor governance. Additionally, cross-cultural research should be expanded to analyze the mechanisms of rumor dissemination across different cultural contexts and governance models, addressing the challenges posed by the globalization of information dissemination.