Grassroots, Astroturf, or Something in Between? Semi-Official WeChat Accounts as Covert Vectors of Party-State Influence in Contemporary China

This article explores a facet of the Chinese propaganda apparatus that has yet to receive sufficient academic attention: the murky ecosystem of “semi-official” party-state presences on Chinese social media. With a particular focus on WeChat public accounts, this investigation responds to two critica...

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Autor principal:	Jackson Paul Neagli
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	SAGE Publishing 2021
Materias:	Political institutions and public administration - Asia (Asian studies only) JQ1-6651 Social sciences and state - Asia (Asian studies only) H53
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/0a41c6bcd9ca40cb9720a935da220cad
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:0a41c6bcd9ca40cb9720a935da220cad2021-12-01T22:33:31ZGrassroots, Astroturf, or Something in Between? Semi-Official WeChat Accounts as Covert Vectors of Party-State Influence in Contemporary China1868-10261868-487410.1177/1868102621989717https://doaj.org/article/0a41c6bcd9ca40cb9720a935da220cad2021-08-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1177/1868102621989717https://doaj.org/toc/1868-1026https://doaj.org/toc/1868-4874This article explores a facet of the Chinese propaganda apparatus that has yet to receive sufficient academic attention: the murky ecosystem of “semi-official” party-state presences on Chinese social media. With a particular focus on WeChat public accounts, this investigation responds to two critical research questions: first, what differentiates official party-state social media presences from semi-official presences, and second, what unique role do semi-official WeChat accounts play in the contemporary Chinese propaganda apparatus? This article samples content published by five dyads of official and semi-official WeChat public accounts during the first fifteen days of June 2019. The results of this comparative, case-study-based discourse analysis support two conclusions. First, semi-official WeChat accounts posture as independent from the party-state in order to attract large followings and gain credibility. Second, semi-official WeChat public accounts operate as “astroturfed influencers,” enabling the Chinese propaganda apparatus to covertly manipulate online discourse with extraordinary efficiency.Jackson Paul NeagliSAGE PublishingarticlePolitical institutions and public administration - Asia (Asian studies only)JQ1-6651Social sciences and state - Asia (Asian studies only)H53ENJournal of Current Chinese Affairs, Vol 50 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Political institutions and public administration - Asia (Asian studies only) JQ1-6651 Social sciences and state - Asia (Asian studies only) H53
spellingShingle	Political institutions and public administration - Asia (Asian studies only) JQ1-6651 Social sciences and state - Asia (Asian studies only) H53 Jackson Paul Neagli Grassroots, Astroturf, or Something in Between? Semi-Official WeChat Accounts as Covert Vectors of Party-State Influence in Contemporary China
description	This article explores a facet of the Chinese propaganda apparatus that has yet to receive sufficient academic attention: the murky ecosystem of “semi-official” party-state presences on Chinese social media. With a particular focus on WeChat public accounts, this investigation responds to two critical research questions: first, what differentiates official party-state social media presences from semi-official presences, and second, what unique role do semi-official WeChat accounts play in the contemporary Chinese propaganda apparatus? This article samples content published by five dyads of official and semi-official WeChat public accounts during the first fifteen days of June 2019. The results of this comparative, case-study-based discourse analysis support two conclusions. First, semi-official WeChat accounts posture as independent from the party-state in order to attract large followings and gain credibility. Second, semi-official WeChat public accounts operate as “astroturfed influencers,” enabling the Chinese propaganda apparatus to covertly manipulate online discourse with extraordinary efficiency.
format	article
author	Jackson Paul Neagli
author_facet	Jackson Paul Neagli
author_sort	Jackson Paul Neagli
title	Grassroots, Astroturf, or Something in Between? Semi-Official WeChat Accounts as Covert Vectors of Party-State Influence in Contemporary China
title_short	Grassroots, Astroturf, or Something in Between? Semi-Official WeChat Accounts as Covert Vectors of Party-State Influence in Contemporary China
title_full	Grassroots, Astroturf, or Something in Between? Semi-Official WeChat Accounts as Covert Vectors of Party-State Influence in Contemporary China
title_fullStr	Grassroots, Astroturf, or Something in Between? Semi-Official WeChat Accounts as Covert Vectors of Party-State Influence in Contemporary China
title_full_unstemmed	Grassroots, Astroturf, or Something in Between? Semi-Official WeChat Accounts as Covert Vectors of Party-State Influence in Contemporary China
title_sort	grassroots, astroturf, or something in between? semi-official wechat accounts as covert vectors of party-state influence in contemporary china
publisher	SAGE Publishing
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/0a41c6bcd9ca40cb9720a935da220cad
work_keys_str_mv	AT jacksonpaulneagli grassrootsastroturforsomethinginbetweensemiofficialwechataccountsascovertvectorsofpartystateinfluenceincontemporarychina
_version_	1718404083813974016

Grassroots, Astroturf, or Something in Between? Semi-Official WeChat Accounts as Covert Vectors of Party-State Influence in Contemporary China

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