Re-mediating Russian Strategic Narratives on the Chinese Video-Sharing Platform Bilibili: A Case Study in Nonlinear Soft Power Projection

Abstract

This thesis resists the assumption that strategic narratives (Miskimmon et al., 2013 , 2017), which have soft power significance (Nye, 1990), are projected in a straightforward manner to their target audiences. This is the first book-length critical examination of the non-linearity of the dissemination of strategic narratives in the digital age, especially in the social media sphere. The main focus of this work is the revelation of the multiple unexpected disruptions in the path of projected strategic narratives by participatory media agents, including media outlets and audiences. It presents the case study of a Chinese state-aligned outlet's mediation of videos produced by Russian international broadcaster RT, and the remediation by participatory Chinese social media users through their danmu comments on video sharing platform Bilibili. This thesis shows that the non-linear trajectory of strategic narratives involves multi-layer mediations, imposed by other political actors to pursue their own political and commercial agendas and by participatory audiences who subject them to their own online practices. This complex process brings unforeseen benefits and drawbacks for the producers of the original narratives. The data analysis shows that, first, the Russian strategic narratives and RT's videos were exploited by the Chinese state-aligned outlet to promote Beijing's strategic narratives as a domestic soft propagandistic tool and to meet its commercial goals on Bilibili's media ecology. The characteristics of Putin and Russia are adapted by the Chinese outlet to relate to Bilibili users' pre-existing knowledge and the popular culture, such as ACG (anime, cartoons and games) to which they have been exposed. The affectionate images of Putin and Russia serve as the primary vehicles through which Chinese narratives reach young and apolitical audiences on Bilibili. Simultaneously, Russian strategic narratives that overlap with Chinese ones become easy for the audience to internalise and are therefore impactful. More importantly, the Chinese audience incorporates the Russian strategic narratives into their heavily ritualised conventions and norms within their virtual community of Bilibili, as reflected in their social and linguistic interactions, resulting in ironic and sometimes subversive re-interpretations of the Russian strategic narratives. This secondary mediation shows that incidental disseminated strategic narratives often occur as by products of using social media for purposes such as playful participation within the Bilibili community.

Date of Award	31 Dec 2023
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	The University of Manchester
Supervisor	Vera Tolz-Zilitinkevic (Supervisor) & Stephen Hutchings (Supervisor)