Social media and citizen mobilization: How Chinese government agencies use Weibo to advance the 2030 agenda goals on sustainability

Abstract

This study aims to analyse how Chinese government agencies utilize social media to advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Guided by public communication concepts and framing theory, we distil the frames and frame functions from 31,453 Weibo posts published by Chinese government agencies through automated content analysis and employ statistical analysis to verify the relationships between the SDGs and frame functions, as well as between frame functions and audience interactions. The findings reveal that Chinese government agencies employ five distinct frame functions in descending order of usage, namely, mobilization, consequence, notification, solution, and attribution, to disseminate information related to the SDGs. Different frame functions for public communication are selected by the government on the basis of the content and focus of various SDGs. Weibo posts that utilize notification, consequence, and mobilization frame functions tend to garner more audience interactions effectively. These results demonstrate the feasibility of public sector mobilization through social media, offering valuable insights for global governments and public sectors on how to use social media to promote the SDGs.