Abstract: This study explores the driving factors and evolutionary mechanisms of online reverse social emotions during emergencies. Utilizing the Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) method, this study applies the theoretical model of amplified propagation of online reverse social emotions to examine thirty emergency cases across three dimensions: netizens, media, and government. The findings indicate that there are eight configurations that exacerbate online reverse social emotions across these three dimensions. Five key factors, such as expression appeal, social equity, continuous reporting, government intervention, and concealment, play critical roles in the evolution of online reverse social emotions. The degree of emergency, mass conformity, opinion leaders, type of media, launch platform, quality of response, and level of government, when combined with key factors, can determine the direction of the evolution of online reverse social emotions. To mitigate online reverse social emotions, it is essential to ensure open channels for expressing appeal, protect the interests of netizens, strengthen media oversight to harness its value-driven role, and fulfill government emergency responsibilities to demonstrate social justice and fairness, thereby severing the pathway for online risks to translate into offline conflicts and preventing social unrest.

Key words: Emergency, Cyberspace, Reverse social emotion, Driving factors, QCA