Mind Your Words: Online Political Expressions of Celebrities in China

• In Event: Political Communication in China

Abstract

Entertainment celebrities wield immense influence on social media platforms, making their political expressions highly impactful. By classifying and analyzing over 750,000 Weibo posts from 583 entertainment celebrities, this study examines the political expressions of Chinese entertainment celebrities on social media. By comparing the political expressions of celebrities of different levels of popularity and before and after their rise to fame, we find that increased fame does not lead to a higher overall frequency of political expressions by celebrities. However, it does result in a greater frequency of retweeting official media tweets. We argue that, due to political risk, censorship pressure, and substantial exit costs, entertainment celebrities tend to adopt expression strategies that align with the mainstream national propaganda on social media to reduce their political risk or the pressure of potential discipline.

Authors

• Zhiyuan DING, Chinese University of Hong Kong

• Yu Zeng, Shanghai Jiao Tong University