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China Digital

From “Public Megaphone” to “National Watercooler”: Casper Wichmann on Weibo’s Role in Digital China

With Weibo now 15 years old, we asked Sinologist Wichmann about its evolving role in shaping public opinion, its key moments, and whether it can remain a major platform for public discourse in China’s increasingly crowded digital landscape.

Published

2 years ago

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WHAT’S ON WEIBO CHAPTER: 15 YEARS OF WEIBO

Over the years, Weibo has undergone significant changes in both its political and social functions. Sinologist and China correspondent Casper Wichmann explored Weibo extensively in his academic research during the platform’s early years. Now, he reflects on its evolution and current role in China’s digital landscape.

Over the past fifteen years, the Chinese social media platform Weibo has been a popular and extensively studied subject in…

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Stories that are authored by the What's on Weibo Team are the stories that multiple authors contributed to. Please check the names at the end of the articles to see who the authors are.

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China AI

AI Actress Ad Pulled, Baihaitun Disrupts Shanghai and Cicada Meme Bugs Huawei

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4 weeks ago

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August 12, 2026

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Welcome to China Trend Watch (Week 32–33 | 2026), where I bring you the latest trends, memes, and debates driving conversation across Chinese social media. I’m Manya Koetse, a sinologist specializing in Chinese digital culture.

 

 

🗞️ QUICK SCROLLS

 

📈 Is China’s AI price war over?After a period of offering as much as possible to users at relatively low prices, Chinese AI (LLM) companies are now raising their prices. Last week,…

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China Digital

How Chinese AI Videos Turned Foreigners into Villains

How viral AI videos turn racialized outsiders into threats and violent Chinese heroes into defenders of social order, China’s first nationally broadcast AI drama, and why a newspaper is being sold for 50 times its original price.
Manya Koetse

Published

1 month ago

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August 3, 2026

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Welcome to China Trend Watch (Week 30–33 | 2026), where I bring you the latest trends, memes, and debates driving conversation across Chinese social media. Subscribe here to receive future editions.

 

Over the past few weeks, a noteworthy amount of AI-related news has been trending on Chinese social media, which is reflected in this week’s edition.

Now that AI has entered every corner of media consumption and online life, related discussions seem…

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