Weaponized Patriotism: Inside China's Nationalist Online Army...

Guyan Muchan, an influencer who used to work for China's Communist party youth league, warned her 6.5 million Weibo followers that protestors should "Not be used by people with a hidden plan." Her comment was reposted by the wife of Zhao Lijian, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman. Nikkei Asia has analyzed the use of ruhua in posts on Weibo - China's heavily censored Twitter equivalent - over almost 10 years to give a snapshot of the wider story of rising online nationalism. Last year, Weibo disclosed its operation mechanism for "Weibo hot searches," or trending topics. The Weibo effect These incidents highlight how Weibo has become a key online-patriot outlet. Last year, the Cyberspace Administration of China imposed 45 penalties on Weibo totaling 17.3million yuan for repeatedly publishing "Illegal" information. Playing with nationalist fire Weibo set up another platform for nationalists in 2020, launching the feature #V光计划#, which later changed to #V光深评#. The nationalist Guyan Muchan, who has over 6 million followers on Weibo, published a series of articles in July and August with the spotlight commentary hashtag.