How Authoritarian States Use Short-Video Propaganda to Signal Coercive and Administrative Capacities: Evidence from Douyin

• In Event: Political Communication in China

Brief Overview

Study of 48,902 Douyin police videos shows how authoritarian regimes use short-video propaganda to signal coercive and administrative capacities. ML models classify clips; multilevel analysis links frames to place, sensitive dates, and engagement.

Authors

• Yiqiang Wang, University of Hong Kong

• Yingqi Huang, University of Wisconsin–Madison

• Haohan Chen, University of Hong Kong