1887
  1. Home
  2. e-Journals
  3. Journal of Asian Pacific Communication
  4. Volume 34, Issue 2
  5. Article
Volume 34, Issue 2
  • ISSN 0957-6851
  • E-ISSN: 1569-9838
USD
Buy:$35.00 + Taxes

Abstract

Abstract

Drawn from attribute agenda setting theory and propaganda theory, this study examined an attribute agenda structure of YouTube videos on North Korean propaganda and its relationship with social media network indicators. A topic modeling analysis with 2,538 video descriptions clustered bulk documents into four attribute agendas: proximity, prominence, conflicts, and common interest. Proximity related North Korean propaganda to its main stakeholders such as China. Prominence was concerned with the relationship between North Korea and business. Conflict showcased North Korea’s military power as a confronting mode against South Korea. Common interest covered daily attractions in North Korea, including music and tourism. A positive relationship between conflict and all network strength indicators implies that YouTube descriptions of North Korea are related to military confrontations, showing belligerence as a notable attribute. Four topics and their linkage with network ties suggest that, despite North Korea’s efforts to build a soft image via YouTube, influencers set conflicts as key agenda attributes.

© John Benjamins Publishing Company
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1075/japc.00110.kan
2024-10-04
2025-04-27

  • From This Site

    /content/journals/10.1075/japc.00110.kan
    dcterms_title,dcterms_subject,pub_keyword
    -contentType:Journal -contentType:Contributor -contentType:Concept -contentType:Institution
    10
    5
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Abuín-Penas, J.
    (2023) Fact-checking en Youtube en España: Tipología de verificaciones en vídeo en 2021. Index.Comunicacion, 13(1), 247–269. 10.33732/ixc/13/01Factch
     https://doi.org/10.33732/ixc/13/01Factch [Google Scholar]
  2. Ali Mohammed, S. H., & McCombs, M.
    (2021) Intermedia agenda setting or international news flow? Cross-lagged comparison of elite international newspapers. International Journal of Communication (19328036), 151, 3948–3969.
     [Google Scholar]
  3. Ali, K., & Zain-ul-abdin, K.
    (2021) Post-truth propaganda: heuristic processing of political fake news on Facebook during the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 49(1), 109–128. 10.1080/00909882.2020.1847311
     https://doi.org/10.1080/00909882.2020.1847311 [Google Scholar]
  4. Arendt, F., & Brantner, C.
    (2015) Toward an implicit cognition account of attribute agenda setting. International Journal of Communication (19328036), 91, 2735–2756.
     [Google Scholar]
  5. Ariel, Y., Elishar Malka, V., Weimann Saks, D., & Avidar, R.
    (2021) “If you follow me, I might (mis)lead you”: Following prime ministerial candidates on social networks as a predictor of the public agenda during an election campaign. Agenda Setting Journal: Theory, Practice, Critique, 5(2), 266–291. 10.1075/asj.20014.ari
     https://doi.org/10.1075/asj.20014.ari [Google Scholar]
  6. Aruguete, N.
    (2021) Activación de encuadres en red. Un modelo para repensar la circulación de sentidos en el nuevo entorno mediático. El Profesional de La Información, 30(2), 1–18. 10.3145/epi.2021.mar.18
     https://doi.org/10.3145/epi.2021.mar.18 [Google Scholar]
  7. Benecke, D. R., & Oksiutycz, A.
    (2015) Changing conversation and dialogue through LeadSA: An example of public relations activism in South Africa. Public Relations Review, 41(5), 816–824. 10.1016/j.pubrev.2015.06.003
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2015.06.003 [Google Scholar]
  8. Besova, A. A., & Cooley, S. C.
    (2009) Foreign news and public opinion: Attribute agenda-setting theory revisited. Ecquid Novi: African Journalism Studies (University of Wisconsin Press), 30(2), 219–242. 10.1080/02560054.2009.9653403
     https://doi.org/10.1080/02560054.2009.9653403 [Google Scholar]
  9. Bevan, J.
    (2010) Welcome to Panmunjeom: encounters with the North in contemporary South Korean cinema. New Cinemas: Journal of Contemporary Film, 8(1), 45–57. 10.1386/ncin.8.1.45_1
     https://doi.org/10.1386/ncin.8.1.45_1 [Google Scholar]
  10. Black, J.
    (2001) Semantics and ethics of propaganda. Journal of Mass Media Ethics, 16(2–3), 121–137. 10.1207/S15327728JMME1602&3_4
     https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327728JMME1602&3_4 [Google Scholar]
  11. Blair, S. J., Bi, Y., & Mulvenna, M. D.
    (2020) Aggregated topic models for increasing social media topic coherence. Applied Intelligence, 501, 138–156. 10.1007/s10489‑019‑01438‑z
     https://doi.org/10.1007/s10489-019-01438-z [Google Scholar]
  12. Boyd-Graber, J., Mimno, D., & Newman, D.
    (2014) Care and feeding of topic models: Problems, diagnostics, and improvements. InE. M. Airoldi, D. M. Blei, E. A. Erosheva, & S. E. Fienberg (Eds.). Handbook of mixed membership models and their applications (pp.225–254). Boca Raton, FL: Chapman and Hall/CRC.
     [Google Scholar]
  13. Brandt, J., & Wirtschafter, V.
    (2022, July6). How China uses search engines to spread propaganda. Stream. Retrieved fromhttps://www.brookings.edu/techstream/how-china-uses-search-engines-to-spread-propaganda/
     [Google Scholar]
  14. Carazo-Barrantes, C.
    (2021) Agenda-setting in a social media age: Exploring new methodological approaches. Agenda Setting Journal: Theory, Practice, Critique, 5(1), 31–55. 10.1075/asj.20006.car
     https://doi.org/10.1075/asj.20006.car [Google Scholar]
  15. Carroll, C. & McCombs, M.
    (2003) Agenda setting effects of business news on the public’s images and opinions of major corporations. Corporate Reputation Review, 161, 36–46. 10.1057/palgrave.crr.1540188
     https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.crr.1540188 [Google Scholar]
  16. Dieng, A. B., Ruiz, F. J. R., & Blei, D. M.
    (2020) Topic modeling in embedding spaces. Transactions of the Association for Computational Linguistics, 81, 439–453. 10.1162/tacl_a_00325
     https://doi.org/10.1162/tacl_a_00325 [Google Scholar]
  17. Diez-Gracia, A., & Sánchez-García, P.
    (2022) The news gap in the “triple digital agenda”: The different interests of media, audience and networks. Communication & Society, 35(1), 63–80. 10.15581/003.35.1.63‑80
     https://doi.org/10.15581/003.35.1.63-80 [Google Scholar]
  18. Franke, M., & Van Rooij, R.
    (2015) Strategies of persuasion, manipulation and propaganda: Psychological and social aspects. Invan Benthem, J. S. Ghosh, & R. Verbrugge (Eds.), Models of strategic reasoning (pp.255–291). Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer. 10.1007/978‑3‑662‑48540‑8_8
     https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-48540-8_8 [Google Scholar]
  19. Frisch, N., Belair-Gagnon, V., & Agur, C.
    (2018) Media capture with Chinese characteristics: Changing patterns in Hong Kong’s news media system. Journalism, 19(8), 1165–1181. 10.1177/1464884917724632
     https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884917724632 [Google Scholar]
  20. Geigenberger, L.
    (2023, May4). North Korea ranks dead last in latest World Press Freedom Index. Daily NK. Retrieved fromhttps://www.dailynk.com/english/north-korea-ranks-dead-last-latest-world-press-freedom-index/, last accessJune 1, 2024.
     [Google Scholar]
  21. Gill, M.
    (2012) North Korea: The role of propaganda in the sustainability of the Kim regime (master’s thesis, Georgetown University).
     [Google Scholar]
  22. Ghanem, S.
    (1997) Filling in the tapestry: The second level of agenda setting. InMcCombs, M., D. L. Shaw, & D. Weaver (Eds.). Communication and democracy: Exploring the intellectual frontiers in agenda-setting theory (pp.3–14). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
     [Google Scholar]
  23. Güven, E.
    (2019) The Juche System and the DPR Korea media as official mouthpiece of the Kim Family: Pyongyang Times newspaper website analysis. Global Media Journal: Turkish Edition, 10(19), 194–215.
     [Google Scholar]
  24. Hacek, J.
    (2022) An overview of war propaganda and robotrolling. Otazky Zurnalistiky, 65(1/2), 41–48.
     [Google Scholar]
  25. Himelboim, I., Xiao, X., Lee, D. K. L., Wang, M. Y., & Borah, P.
    (2020) A social networks approach to understanding vaccine conversations on Twitter: Network clusters, sentiment, and certainty in HPV social networks. Health Communication, 35(5), 607–615. 10.1080/10410236.2019.1573446
     https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2019.1573446 [Google Scholar]
  26. Isoaho, K., Gritsenko, D., & Mäkelä, E.
    (2021) Topic modeling and text analysis for qualitative policy research. Policy Studies Journal, 49(1), 300–324. 10.1111/psj.12343
     https://doi.org/10.1111/psj.12343 [Google Scholar]
  27. Jang, W. Y., Hong, J., & Frederick, E.
    (2015) The framing of the North Korean Six-Party Talks by Chinese and North Korean news agencies: Communist propaganda and national interests. Media International Australia154 (8/1/07–Current), 42–52. 10.1177/1329878X1515400107
     https://doi.org/10.1177/1329878X1515400107 [Google Scholar]
  28. Jowett, G. S., & O’Donnell, V.
    (2018) Propaganda and persuasion (7th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
     [Google Scholar]
  29. Kent, M. L., & Taylor, M.
    (2011) How intercultural communication theory informs public relations practice in global settings. InN. Bardhan, & C. K. Weaver (Eds.), Public relations in global cultural contexts. Multi-paradigmatic perspectives (pp.50–77). New York: Routledge.
     [Google Scholar]
  30. Kim, H.
    (2023, June27). YouTube removes North Korean ‘vloggers’ after South Korea blocks accounts. Reuters. Retrieved fromhttps://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/youtube-removes-north-korean-vloggers-after-skorea-blocks-accounts-2023-06-27, last accessJune 2, 2024.
     [Google Scholar]
  31. Li, M.
    (2018) Intermedia attribute agenda setting in the context of issue-focused media events: Caitlyn Jenner and transgender reporting. Journalism Practice, 12(1), 56–75. 10.1080/17512786.2016.1273078
     https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2016.1273078 [Google Scholar]
  32. Lim, Y. J.
    (2021) Kim Jong-un’s image makeover in global public relations: The Singapore Summit targeting international media and global audience. Asia Pacific Public Relations Journal, 231, 1–17.
     [Google Scholar]
  33. Long, Q., & Shao, L.
    (2023) Beyond propaganda: The changing journalistic practices of China’s party press in the digital era. Journalism Practice, 17(4), 799–813. 10.1080/17512786.2021.1949628
     https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2021.1949628 [Google Scholar]
  34. Makhortykh, M., & Sydorova, M.
    (2017) Social media and visual framing of the conflict in Eastern Ukraine. Media, War & Conflict, 10(3), 359–381. 10.1177/1750635217702539
     https://doi.org/10.1177/1750635217702539 [Google Scholar]
  35. McCombs, M.
    (2004) Setting the agenda: The mass media and public opinion. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  36. Monika, J.
    (2021) Analysis of United States propaganda against North Korea through the film The Interview. International Journal on Social Science, Economics and Art, 11(1), 33–45. 10.35335/ijosea.v10i1.4
     https://doi.org/10.35335/ijosea.v10i1.4 [Google Scholar]
  37. Moon, M.
    (2018) Manufacturing consent? The role of the international news on the Korean Peninsula. Global Media & Communication, 14(3), 265–281. 10.1177/1742766518780176
     https://doi.org/10.1177/1742766518780176 [Google Scholar]
  38. Nowacki, L.
    (2021) Proximity hype as a frame attribute in the reporting on North Korea: Frame strength in competitive contexts. Global Media & Communication, 17(3), 345–362. 10.1177/17427665211040212
     https://doi.org/10.1177/17427665211040212 [Google Scholar]
  39. Oleinik, A., & Paniotto, V.
    (2023) War propaganda unfolded: Comparative effectiveness of propaganda and counterpropaganda in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. International Journal of Communication171, 7265–7290.
     [Google Scholar]
  40. Park, H., Biddix, J. P., & Park, H. W.
    (2021) Discussion, news information, and research sharing on social media at the onset of Covid-19. El Profesional de La Información30 (4), 1–15. 10.3145/epi.2021.jul.05
     https://doi.org/10.3145/epi.2021.jul.05 [Google Scholar]
  41. Park, H. W., & Lim, Y. S.
    (2020) Do North Korean social media show signs of change?: An examination of a YouTube channel using qualitative tagging and social network analysis. Journal of Contemporary Eastern Asia19 (1), 123–143. 10.17477/jcea.2020.19.1.123
     https://doi.org/10.17477/jcea.2020.19.1.123 [Google Scholar]
  42. Pratkanis, A. R., & Aronson, E.
    (2001) Age of propaganda: The everyday use and abuse of persuasion. New York, NY: Holt Paperbacks.
     [Google Scholar]
  43. Raun, T.
    (2016) Out online. Trans self-representation and community building on YouTube. New York, NY: Routledge.
     [Google Scholar]
  44. Rospitasari, M.
    (2021) YouTube as alternative media for digital activism in documentary film creative industry. Jurnal Studi Komunikasi, 5(3), 665–692. Retrieved fromhttps://ejournal.unitomo.ac.id/index.php/jsk/article/view/4418, last accessSeptember 3, 2024. 10.25139/jsk.v5i3.3779
     https://doi.org/10.25139/jsk.v5i3.3779 [Google Scholar]
  45. Scheufele, D. A.
    (1999) Framing as a theory of media effects. Journal of Communication49(1), 103–122. 10.1111/j.1460‑2466.1999.tb02784.x
     https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.1999.tb02784.x [Google Scholar]
  46. Schmitt, J. B., Rieger, D., Rutkowski, O., & Ernst, J.
    (2018) Counter-messages as prevention or promotion of extremism?! The potential role of YouTube: Recommendation algorithms. Journal of Communication, 68(4), 780–808. 10.1093/joc/jqy029
     https://doi.org/10.1093/joc/jqy029 [Google Scholar]
  47. Sixto-García, J., Rodríguez-Vázquez, A. I., & Soengas-Pérez, X.
    (2022) Co-creation in North American and European digital native media: Web, social networks and offline spaces. Journalism, 23(9), 1955–1974. 10.1177/1464884920984698
     https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884920984698 [Google Scholar]
  48. Social Media Research Foundation
    Social Media Research Foundation (2023) Overall metrics defined. Social Media Research Foundation. Retrieved fromhttps://www.smrfoundation.org/networks/overall-metrics-defined/, last accessSeptember 3, 2024.
     [Google Scholar]
  49. Swanberg, S. E.
    (2019) Psychological armor: The science news-letter warns against propaganda (1926–1965). Journalism Studies, 20(13), 1883–1902. 10.1080/1461670X.2018.1541754
     https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2018.1541754 [Google Scholar]
  50. Thompson, C. M., Hintz, E. A., & Duerringer, C. M.
    (2022) Setting the agenda: Beyond discourse dependence and a dependence on discourse. Journal of Family Communication, 22(2), 175–184. 10.1080/15267431.2022.2041997
     https://doi.org/10.1080/15267431.2022.2041997 [Google Scholar]
  51. Walter, D., Ophir, Y., Pruden, M., & Golan, G.
    (2022) Watching the whole world: The media framing of foreign countries in US news and its antecedents. Journalism Studies, 23(15), 1994–2014. 10.1080/1461670X.2022.2137838
     https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2022.2137838 [Google Scholar]
  52. Yang, S., Brossard, D., Scheufele, D. A., & Xenos, M. A.
    (2022) The science of YouTube: What factors influence user engagement with online science videos?. PloS one, 17(5), e0267697. 10.1371/journal.pone.0267697
     https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0267697 [Google Scholar]
  53. Yeung, J., & Bae, G.
    (2023, February5). They eat ice cream and read ‘Harry Potter,’ but these North Korean YouTubers aren’t what they seem. CNN. Retrieved fromhttps://www.cnn.com/2023/02/04/asia/north-korea-youtuber-yumi-intl-hnk-dst/index.html, last accessSeptember 3, 2024.
     [Google Scholar]
  54. Yoon, S.
    (2020) Mobile Media and Its Impacts on Social Change and Human Rights in North Korea. International Journal of Communication (19328036), 141, 1480–1497.
     [Google Scholar]
  55. Zhao, X., & Wang, X.
    (2023) Dynamics of networked framing: Automated frame analysis of government media and the public on Weibo with pandemic big data. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 100(1), 100–122. 10.1177/10776990211072508
     https://doi.org/10.1177/10776990211072508 [Google Scholar]
  56. Zhou, A.
    (2019) Bring publics back into networked public relations research: A dual-projection approach for network ecology. Public Relations Review, 45(4), N.PAG. 10.1016/j.pubrev.2019.03.004
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2019.03.004 [Google Scholar]
  57. Zwirko, C.
    (2022, June20). Harry Potter-loving North Korean vlogger comes from elite family close to Kims. NK News. Retrieved fromhttps://www.nknews.org/2022/07/harry-potter-loving-north-korean-vlogger-from-elite-family-close-to-kims/
     [Google Scholar]
  58. Zyglidopoulos, S., Symeou, P. C., Bantimaroudis, P., & Kampanellou, E.
    (2012) Cultural agenda setting: Media attributes and public attention of Greek museums. Communication Research, 39(4), 480–498. 10.1177/0093650210395747
     https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650210395747 [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1075/japc.00110.kan
Loading
North Korean propaganda and counterpropaganda on YouTube
Journal of Asian Pacific Communication 34, 133 (2024); https://doi.org/10.1075/japc.00110.kan
/content/journals/10.1075/japc.00110.kan
/content/journals/10.1075/japc.00110.kan
Loading

Data & Media loading...

  • Article Type: Research Article
Keyword(s): attribute agenda setting; network strengths; North Korea; propaganda; YouTube

Most Cited

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was successful
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error