Nation branding via sportswashing: An exploration of pro-China YouTube influencers and commenters around the 2022 Winter Olympic Games

IF 4.1 3区管理学 Q2 BUSINESS

Public Relations Review Pub Date : 2025-07-21 DOI:10.1016/j.pubrev.2025.102611

Brandon C. Boatwright , Gregory A. Cranmer, Enamul Kabir, Cole Warms

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

This study examines the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) nation branding efforts via YouTube around the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. We identified eight channels with alleged affiliations to the PRC and collected 27 videos along with 21,958 corresponding comments. Drawing from extant research, we identify the foci of nation branding antecedents and strategies used by YouTube creators to promote the PRC. Furthermore, we examine the behavioral characteristics of commenters across videos to differentiate between account types and evaluate engagement and semantic utilization differences between account types. Results from the analysis of YouTube videos identified two broad functions of nation branding (building a desirable brand for the PRC and addressing undesirable aspects of the PRC brand), served by six categories of strategies (bolstering, appeals to others, attacking sources, calling critique into question, leveraging sport as an apolitical topic, and downplaying ethical concerns). Using various behavioral characteristics of commenter data, we differentiate between account types (“potentially coordinated accounts” and “likely average users”) to evaluate differences in engagement rates and semantic utilization between accounts. Theoretical and practical implications are addressed.

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通过体育运动来塑造国家品牌：对2022年冬奥会前后亲中国的YouTube网红和评论者的探索

这项研究考察了中国在2022年北京冬奥会期间通过YouTube进行的国家品牌推广工作。我们确定了8个据称与中国有关联的频道，并收集了27个视频以及21,958条相应评论。根据现有的研究，我们确定了YouTube创作者用于推广中国的国家品牌前因和策略的焦点。此外，我们研究了视频评论的行为特征，以区分不同的账户类型，并评估账户类型之间的参与度和语义利用差异。对YouTube视频的分析结果确定了国家品牌的两大功能（为中华人民共和国建立一个理想的品牌和解决中华人民共和国品牌的不良方面），通过六类策略（支持，吸引他人，攻击来源，质疑批评，利用体育作为一个非政治话题，淡化道德问题）提供服务。使用评论数据的各种行为特征，我们区分帐户类型（“潜在协调帐户”和“可能的普通用户”），以评估帐户之间参与率和语义利用率的差异。讨论了理论和实践意义。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Public Relations Review Multiple-

CiteScore

8.00

自引率

19.00%

发文量

期刊介绍： The Public Relations Review is the oldest journal devoted to articles that examine public relations in depth, and commentaries by specialists in the field. Most of the articles are based on empirical research undertaken by professionals and academics in the field. In addition to research articles and commentaries, The Review publishes invited research in brief, and book reviews in the fields of public relations, mass communications, organizational communications, public opinion formations, social science research and evaluation, marketing, management and public policy formation.