The Political Economy of Internet Celebrities in China

Internet celebrities in China, usually called ‘Wang Hong’ in Chinese slang, refer to those who become famous on the Internet. They may catch people’s eyes because of certain events or behaviour and attract followers and fans on social platforms. From texts to pictures, videos, and livestreams, the rapid development of Internet information technology has brought about the evolution of social media in China.

Although some observers argue that Internet celebrities in China advance participatory culture, the phenomenon advances monetarization, commodification, a colonised networked public sphere that operates as a sphere of culture consumption, and potentials for the overaccumulation of capital, the overproduction of commodities, and the exploitation of labour-power.

Political economy is a major perspective in communication and media research that is suited for studying processes of commodification and their impacts on society. Therefore, this dissertation uses this tradition of communication research. The research combines critical theory and empirical social research methods to study the political economy of Internet celebrities in China. The specific research questions are as follows:

Main research question:
How does the political economy of Internet celebrities look like in China?

The main research question can be subdivided into four sub-questions:
RQ1: How does commodification work in the political economy of Chinese Internet celebrities?
RQ2: How do the working conditions look like in China’s Internet celebrity industry?
RQ3: How does the everyday life of those who work in the Internet celebrity industry look like in China?
RQ4: How does the identity construction of fans of Internet celebrities look like?

The researcher conducted semi-structured interviews with 9 influencers, 9 proletarianized platform workers who aim to become famous online but have ended up as precarious online workers, and 15 fans. The research is situated in the context of three types of Internet platforms: social media platforms, short video sites, and live streaming platforms.

The findings of the study show that China’s Internet celebrity industry is a dynamic industrial system where Internet capitalists make profits, obscure their legal relationship to Internet celebrities and fans, and carry out labour control through incentive systems and product management systems. The result is a highpressure work environment where online workers dream of becoming famous, love their work and face highly precarious conditions. Only a selected few of them become rich and famous.