The effect of responsibility reframing in translated political news

Abstract When news texts are translated, their original frames undergo further recontextualization whereby they are reframed to align with the dominant ideologies of the target context. The present study explores whether such reframing in translated news influences readers’ attribution of responsibility in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and whether such effects are conditional on participants’ attitudinal stance toward Russia or Ukraine. In a between-subjects experiment, 421 Chinese university students were randomly assigned to read either a translation that deemphasizes Russia’s responsibility via reframing strategies (Stimulus 1) or a faithful translation preserving the original responsibility framing (Stimulus 2). Participants reported pre- and post-exposure attributions to Russia (5-point scales). Relative to Stimulus 2, responsibility reframing in Stimulus 1 led readers to attribute less responsibility to Russia (about 0.30 points on a 1–5 scale, adjusting for baseline). The effect was conditional on participants’ attitudinal stance toward Russia or Ukraine: negligible among more pro-Ukraine participants, evident around the sample mean, and strongest among more pro-Russia participants. Taken together, the findings raise questions about an imbalance of power relations between the producers and readers of journalistic translations and underscore the importance of critical media literacy to counter the effects of reframing in translated news.