Avoiding online censorship through ‘fatty’ memes: How Chinese social media users talk about North Korea

Memes are humorous images, often featuring captions with superimposed text, that are shared online. To avoid censorship, Chinese netizens strategically use memes to discuss political issues. This study content analyses memes that feature an image or likeness of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un posted...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inGlobal media and communication Vol. 18; no. 2; pp. 199 - 218
Main Authors Zhang, Bingbing, Gearhart, Sherice, Perlmutter, David D
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London, England SAGE Publications 01.08.2022
Subjects
Weibo
online censorship
meme
Chinese netizens
humour
political dissent
political discussion
internet meme
Online AccessGet full text
ISSN1742-7665
1742-7673
DOI10.1177/17427665221100596

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Summary:Memes are humorous images, often featuring captions with superimposed text, that are shared online. To avoid censorship, Chinese netizens strategically use memes to discuss political issues. This study content analyses memes that feature an image or likeness of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un posted by Chinese social media users on the Weibo platform. Results highlight how politically astute, tech-savvy publics can express political opinions and dissent in humorous ways, even in a high censorship online environment.
ISSN:1742-7665
1742-7673
DOI:10.1177/17427665221100596