No CrossRef data available.
Article contents
Fandom Culture as a Catalyst for Propaganda
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 November 2023
Abstract
Through computational-assisted analysis of the Weibo corpus of the Chinese Communist Youth League (CYL) spanning from 2013 to 2020, this paper unveils the strategic utilization of fandom culture by the CYL, the youth wing of the ruling party, in its nationalistic propaganda on the internet. Specifically, the CYL deliberately associates with the pop idols of the younger generation on Weibo, harnessing their influence to promote nationalistic content that encompasses both “pride-oriented” and “hostility-oriented” themes. Subsequent analysis reveals a greater propensity for nationalistic content to generate audience response compared to other types of content, particularly when endorsed by these pop idols. This research enriches our understanding of the CYL's propaganda efforts and contributes to the burgeoning scholarship on “soft propaganda” in China.
摘要
通过对 2013 年至 2020 年间共青团微博语料库的计算辅助分析，本文揭示了这一中国执政党的青年附属组织如何策略性地利用中国新兴的粉丝文化在互联网空间中开展宣传活动。具体而言共青团在微博上与拥有大量年青拥趸的流行偶像建立紧密联系，并借助后者的影响力宣传以“骄傲导向”和“敌意导向”为主题的民族主义内容。随后的统计分析显示，较之其他主题内容，共青团发布的上述内容更易引发受众反馈，特别是在获得流行偶像的背书之后。这项研究丰富了我们对于共青团宣传工作的理解，同时也对正在发展中的中国“软宣传”研究作了贡献。
- Type
- Research Report
- Information
- Copyright
- Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of SOAS University of London
References
Amsalem, Eran, and Zoizner, Alon. 2023. “Do people learn about politics on social media? A meta-analysis of 76 studies.” Journal of Communication 73(1), 3–13.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blei, David M., and Lafferty, John D.. 2009. “Topic models.” In Srivastava, Ashok N., Sahami, Mehran and Vipin Kumar (eds.), Text Mining: Classification, Clustering, and Applications. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 71–94.Google Scholar
Brady, Anne-Marie. 2009. Marketing Dictatorship: Propaganda and Thought Work in Contemporary China. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers.Google Scholar
Cai, Shenshen. 2016. State Propaganda in China's Entertainment Industry. London: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carter, Erin Baggott, and Carter, Brett L.. 2022. “When autocrats threaten citizens with violence: evidence from China.” British Journal of Political Science 52(2), 671–696.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chen, Dan, and Gao, Gengsong. 2023. “Chinese celebrities’ political signalling on Weibo.” The China Quarterly 254, 466–483.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
China Internet Network Information Center. 2021. “The 47th China statistical report on internet development,” https://bit.ly/31tujoV. Accessed 15 August 2023.Google Scholar
Creemers, Rogier. 2017. “Cyber China: upgrading propaganda, public opinion work and social management for the twenty-first century.” Journal of Contemporary China 26(103), 85–100.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Doyon, Jérôme. 2020. “The strength of a weak organization: the Communist Youth League as a path to power in post-Mao China.” The China Quarterly 243, 780–800.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huang, Haifeng. 2015. “Propaganda as signaling.” Comparative Politics 47(4), 419–444.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huang, Haifeng. 2018. “The pathology of hard propaganda.” The Journal of Politics 80(3), 1034–38.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huang, Ronggui, and Sun, Xiaoyi. 2014. “Weibo network, information diffusion and implications for collective action in China.” Information, Communication & Society 17(1), 86–104.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mattingly, Daniel C., and Yao, Elaine. 2022. “How soft propaganda persuades.” Comparative Political Studies 55(9), 1569–94.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pringsheim, Klaus H. 1962. “The functions of the Chinese Communist Youth Leagues (1920–1949).” The China Quarterly 12, 75–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Repnikova, Maria, and Fang, Kecheng. 2018. “Authoritarian participatory persuasion 2.0: netizens as thought work collaborators in China.” Journal of Contemporary China 27(113), 763–779.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roberts, Margaret E., Stewart, Brandon M. and Airoldi, Edoardo M.. 2016. “A model of text for experimentation in the social sciences.” Journal of the American Statistical Association 111(515), 988–1003.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shambaugh, David. 2007. “China's propaganda system: institutions, processes and efficacy.” The China Journal 57, 25–58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Su, Chunmeizi. 2019. “Changing Dynamics of Digital Entertainment Media in China.” PhD diss., Queensland University of Technology.Google Scholar
Tsai, Wen-Hsuan, and Liao, Xingmiu. 2021. “Institutional changes, influences and historical junctures in the Communist Youth League of China.” The China Quarterly 248, 161–180.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tsimonis, Konstantinos. 2018. “‘Keep the Party assured and the youth [not] satisfied’: the Communist Youth League and Chinese university students.” Modern China 44(2), 170–207.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Woods, Jackson S., and Dickson, Bruce J.. 2017. “Victims and patriots: disaggregating nationalism in urban China.” Journal of Contemporary China 26(104), 167–182.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Woolley, Samuel C., and Howard, Philip N.. 2018. Computational Propaganda: Political Parties, Politicians, and Political Manipulation on Social Media. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Xia, Shouzhi. 2022. “Amusing ourselves to loyalty? Entertainment, propaganda, and regime resilience in China.” Political Research Quarterly 75(4), 1096–1112.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhu, Yuner, and Fu, King-wa. 2023. “How propaganda works in the digital era: soft news as a gateway.” Digital Journalism: Forthcoming.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zou, Sheng. 2019. “When nationalism meets hip-hop: aestheticized politics of ideotainment in China.” Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies 16(3), 178–195.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zou, Sheng. 2023. “Restyling propaganda: popularized Party press and the making of soft propaganda in China.” Information, Communication & Society 26(1), 201–217.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Xia supplementary material
Figures A1-A4 and Tables A1-A7
PDF
686.7 KB