Crisis, Disinformation and Authoritarian Narratives in Russia and China

Session Submission Type: Full Paper Panel

Session Description

Crises are breeding grounds for disinformation, especially when authoritarian states see them as opportunities to elevate their soft power. Authoritarian narrative construction intensified in the crises of COVID-19 pandemic and Russia-Ukraine war around crisis origin, policy position and regime performance. The situation is further complicated by the collaboration between authoritarian states in countering liberal scripts as well as the blurred roles played by information transmission mediums like social media platform companies and key opinion leaders. The disinformation-based narratives reach citizens in authoritarian states and their counterparts in democracies, urging scholars to systematically explore its production, dissemination and influence.

The papers on this panel speak to this theme by examining the effects of authoritarian propaganda on global power competition, public opinion and economic development. The five panel papers jointly focus on disinformation and narratives of authoritarian states in times of crisis by drawing on mixed research methods of large-scale text data, media analysis, survey experiments and critical discourse analysis. Maria Repnikova and Keyu Alex Chen investigate Chinese media coverage of the Russia-Ukriane war and reveal the underpinning pro-Russia strategy and media discretion. Ma Ming, Alexander Libman and Genia Kostka analyze the framing strategies used by Russia and China in block-building narratives and the improvisions in the interpretation of key opinion leaders and the public through the comparison of social media platform data in the two countries. Audrye Wong explores how China uses information statecraft to improve its position and influence in global landscape by examining the Facebook posts data of Chinese state media and diplomats. Chen Kaiping and Chen Anfan empirically assess the implication of the state-imposed technological shift of social media platform on the public’s political discourse and people’s mobility patterns. Huang Haifeng examines the effects of propaganda on public attitude during disasters, using survey experiments conducted in March 2020. Our panelists hail from a diverse range of institutions across the globe, including those in Europe, the United States, China, and beyond, showcasing a rich tapestry of perspectives and expertise. Together, the papers will unpack what type of strategies authoritarian regimes use to increase their control of information and narratives in times of crisis.

Sub Unit

• Theme Panel

Cosponsor

• Division 13: Politics of Communist and Former Communist Countries

Individual Presentations

• Fact-Checking as a Tool of Persuasion: Analyzing China’s Official and Unofficial Rhetoric about the War in Ukraine - Maria Repnikova, Georgia State University; Wendy Weile Zhou, Georgia State University

• Framing Strategies Used in Authoritarian Block Building: Russia and China - Ming Ma, Free University Berlin; Alexander M. Libman, Freie Universität Berlin; Genia Kostka, Freie Universität Berlin

• Autocratic Advantage: Overseas Propaganda and Great Power Competition - Audrye Wong, University of Southern California

• The Political Economy Outcomes of China’s IP Address De-anonymization Policy - Anfan Chen, The Chinese University of Hong Kong; Kaiping Chen, University of Wisconsin-Madison

• Disaster, Propaganda, and Resistance - Haifeng Huang, The Ohio State University

Chair

• Genia Kostka Freie Universität Berlin

Discussants

• Alexander M. Libman Freie Universität Berlin

• Haifeng Huang The Ohio State University