Governing via platform during crisis: People’s Daily WeChat Subscription Account (SA) and the discursive production of COVID-19

ABSTRACT In early 2020, China witnessed the first case of COVID-19. The nation strived to manage the situation through stringent measures with the help of digital technologies including platforms. This article investigates the discursive production of COVID-19 on People’s Daily Subscription Account (SA, dingyue hao), a state-affiliated media channel on the WeChat platform. Through a mixed approach using the walkthrough method and Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), this article uncovers the power dynamics existing within WeChat and how such dynamics shape the mode of discursive production during the health crisis. Findings reveal the role of People’s Daily in commanding mainstream discursive production in support of the Chinese Communist Party’s continuous quest to legitimise its use of platform media to guide its political subjects and supervise everyday practices of social life. This article can potentially contribute to consolidating understandings of the role of platform media in shaping political governance in contemporary China.