#IamNotAVirus – Transnational activism of chinese diaspora on social media during Covid-19

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.62008/ixc/14/02Iamnot

Keywords:

chinese diaspora, digital activism, social media, transnationalism, political engagement, covid-19

Abstract

This article aims to analyze the transnational activism of the Chinese diaspora in social media platforms that aimed to confront racist and xenophobic narratives on the expression “Chinese virus”, whose dissemination promoted the association between Coronavirus and the Chinese population in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. We focus on the process of creation and production of two campaigns in Brazil and in Spain, #EuNãoSouUmVirus and #YoNoSoyUnVírus, respectively, shared on YouTube and X (former Twitter). Based on a qualitative approach, we combine ethnographic observations (posts and its contexts analysis) and in-depth interviews with three activists involved in these campaigns. The analysis is developed around two dimensions of transnationalism in digital networks of the Chinese diaspora that marked the campaign production process in the two national contexts (1) the emergence of racist and xenophobic narratives around the “Chinese virus” as an impulse towards transnational activism of the Chinese diaspora on digital networks (2) the activism of the #YoNoSoyUnVírus campaign as an opportunity for political engagement and confronting conflict in the context of Chinese culture.

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Author Biographies

Denise Cogo, Escola Superior de Propaganda e Marketing

Full professor of the Graduate Program (Master and Doctorate) in Communication and Consumption Practices at ESPM (Escola Superior de Propaganda e Marketing – Higher School of Propaganda and Marketing), in which she coordinates the research group Deslocar. Researcher with productivity level 1C at the National Council of Scientific and Technologic Development (CNPq). Associate researcher at the Instituto de la Comunicación of Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (Autonomous University of Barcelona).

Luiz Perez Neto, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Serra Húnter Lecturer in the Department of Journalism and Communication Sciences at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB). He is a researcher at the InCom (Institute of Communication) and at the Research Group on Communication and Culture (SGR) at UAB.

Amparo Huertas Bailén, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Professor in the Department of Audiovisual Communication and Advertising at Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB). Director of the Institute of Communication in the same University (InCom-UAB) (2016 - ). Director of UNESCO Chair in Communication (InCom-UAB) (2020 - ).

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Published

2024-07-15

How to Cite

Cogo, D., Perez Neto, L., & Huertas Bailén, A. (2024). #IamNotAVirus – Transnational activism of chinese diaspora on social media during Covid-19. index.Comunicación, 14(2), 321–345. https://doi.org/10.62008/ixc/14/02Iamnot

Issue

Vol. 14 No. 2 (2024): Disinformation and media trust

Section

Miscelánea

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Copyright (c) 2024 Denise Cogo, Luiz Perez Neto, Amparo Huertas Bailén (Autor/a)

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