Propaganda Campaign Research Articles

Serbia’s hybrid warfare: consequences for neighboring countries

ABSTRACT The aim of this research is to analyze the consequences of Serbia’s hybrid warfare; Countries exposed to its hybrid warfare; The means and methods used by Serbia; The mechanisms subjects use to defend themselves; Factors and circumstances contributing to the success or failure of Serbia’s hybrid activities; The political, territorial, security, and economic consequences of hybrid warfare; The Future of Serbia’s hybrid warfare; And the future of relations and cooperation between Serbia and Russia. Hybrid warfare can be waged using conventional and unconventional warfare measures. Serbia is waging hybrid warfare in the 21st century, primarily with unconventional measures against Kosovo, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, violating the sovereignty of these states, including Montenegro and North Macedonia. Serbia’s engagement in hybrid warfare is characterized by a combination of diplomatic maneuvers, propaganda campaigns, the deployment of irregular military forces near the Kosovo border, covert local criminal formations, and the use of military threats, primarily directed against Kosovo.

YOUNG PEOPLE AND FASCISM PROPAGANDA IN IRAN: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE ANTHEM ‘HAIL COMMANDER’

Since its inception in 1979, the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) has enormously capitalized on exploiting youths, from the recruitment of child soldiers during the Iran-Iraq war to deployments of underage boys and girls for political socialization. Political socialization, in this sense, has involved reinforcing Shia/Revolutionary ideologies through mobilizing young people for various cultural activities and propaganda campaigns. As part of these efforts, and in line with IRI’s mounting domestic and international struggles, since March 2022, the government has heavily invested in propagating ‘Hail Commander’, an anthem produced and broadcast by the state-run media. Exclusively performed by 7-14 years old children in uniforms, the content of this anthem (lyrics and visual features) bears a close resemblance to the lyrics of Giovinezza (Juvenility) of fascist Italy (1924-1943) and the political ideals promoted by Hitlerjugend (Hitler Youth) in Nazi Germany (1926-1945). By drawing on theories of fascism, propaganda, and political socialization, and using comparative critical analysis, this study reveals the underlying propagandist messages in Hail Commander and its relations to the fascist/Nazi praxis and ideologies. It is further argued that the creation of Hail Commander should be seen as the revival of the child soldier phenomenon, albeit in the form of media representation.

К вопросу освещения СМИ Азербайджана и Армении подписания Бишкекского протокола (1994-2021 гг.)

The article analyzes the information confrontation and the influence of the media of the South Caucasus states on the evolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and its settlement on the example of the Bishkek Protocol of May 5-12, 1994. The activity of regional media in the conditions of the formation of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia as independent subjects of the world political process in the post-bipolar period is considered. The peculiarities of the functioning of mass media in the conditions of the active phase of the conflict and in the post-conflict period are revealed. The information concepts, strategies and ideological features of the media of the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Armenia, which were used by the conflicting parties when covering the signing of the Bishkek Protocol and subsequently, are studied in detail. The role and significance of the media, their influence on the dynamics of the ethnopolitical conflict and the formation of geopolitical stability in the South Caucasus are investigated. Based on the analysis of publications in the main state print media of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia, regional electronic mass media, the author comes to the conclusion about the urgency of the problem – the negative influence of the media on the peaceful settlement and post–conflict situation in the region. The characteristic principles, approaches, ideological concepts and information strategies that were used by the Azerbaijani and Armenian media when covering the signing of the Bishkek Protocol are identified. A differentiated approach is noted in the process of covering the peace treaty. The main trends in the information policy of the parties in the period under review – from 1994 to 2021 are identified. The destructive role of the media, which acted as a tool of manipulation within the framework of long-term information and propaganda campaigns to discredit the Bishkek Protocol, is pointed out. The scientific novelty lies in the fact that on the basis of the studied publications, trends have been identified to belittle the historical significance of the Bishkek Protocol in order to resume the armed conflict and its “unfreezing” already in the first quarter of the XXI century.

‘Telling China’s Story Well’ as propaganda campaign slogan: International, domestic and the pandemic

The article critically examines ‘Telling China’s Story Well’ (TCSW), a popular propaganda campaign slogan proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013. Drawing on theories about storytelling and propaganda and using the COVID-19 as a contextualised example, the paper discusses how the slogan was adapted into ‘Telling China’s Anti-pandemic Story Well’ to mobilise domestic and external propaganda of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) during the pandemic. We argue that TCSW should be understood as a well-crafted political watchword which promotes and commands strategic narratives of doing propaganda. It has the rhetorical power to integrate and reinvigorate domestic and external propaganda, and to facilitate their convergence. Adapting this slogan to mobilise propaganda campaigns of national or global importance and interest demonstrates the CCP’s ambition to harness strategic storytelling to improve the coherence, effectiveness and reputation of its propaganda at home and abroad.

Homo Novus in the Conquest of the Empire: The Playful Element in Fascist Propaganda and Pedagogy: A Case Study

The Italo-Ethiopian War (1935–1936) represents, par excellence, the war of fascism for fascism. It is no coincidence that the extensive use of military resources was accompanied by an extraordinary propaganda campaign, which also had clear and evident pedagogical implications. The regime, at the peak of its consensus and in the full deployment of its totalitarian vocation, took on the objective of raising the young and very young generations “to the level of the Empire.” The pedagogical project of the homo novus experienced a qualitative leap. The combination of war and Africa, filled with heroic fascination and ancestral mystery, stroke the imagination of teachers, educators, textbook compilers, and, similarly, excited the imagination of the youth. The enthusiasm generated by propaganda, or the propaganda itself artificially returned to the public sphere, promoted the psychological dynamics of “celebration” and play. Although fascist pedagogy underestimated the relationship between learning and play, the playful element actually emerged as an important factor in political mobilization and, above all, imperialistic education. The didactic strategies of elementary school teachers, developed in preparation for and during the African conflict, are proof of this. However, even the private industry aligned itself with the pedagogical influences of the regime, introducing a wide variety of toys on the market that served to shape an imperialist, warlike, chauvinistic, and racist mentality. The province of Perugia is undoubtedly an interesting field of investigation: on the territory of the “capital of the fascist revolution,” starting from 1923, governing groups making loyalty to the Duce the driving force of their political rise took over the institutional and administrative structures. But that’s not all: unlike elsewhere, the Gentile reform enjoyed widespread consensus in Perugia from the beginning. Moreover, the majority of teachers joined Mussolini’s movement from the very beginning.

Marketing’s Debt to World War I

World War I was a global conflict produced blood filled trenches, battlefields of dead, and mangled soldiers. Some may feel that this war has little to do with the field of marketing. However, marketing played a key role in the war. Despite the important role of marketing in the war, scholars have not fully explored the impact of promotion and propaganda on the war effort. Marketing efforts related to World War I may not have had the impact as the millions of soldiers who took active part in the conflict. It did however play an important role in the filling the ranks of the armed forces of the nations involved in the war. The United States, and other nations, during the war developed increasingly more sophisticated marketing, public relations, and propaganda campaigns in order to culturally mobilize the home front, and to recruit additional fresh troops into the conflict in those nations which did not engage in conscription. Efforts to market World War I helped develop marketing tactics used today to brand and publicize products and services. A key figure in the efforts to market World War I to the American public was George Creel. Creel was the head of the Committee on Public Information. Creel was a successful promoter and champion of many of the reform causes of the early part of the 20th Century. Creel’s marketing efforts impact on America’s role in World War I was indeed significant. The topic of this paper is the impact of World War I on the development of marketing related tools and techniques. Many of the techniques and tools developed during the Great War are still used today to sell products, in the United States and in the rest of the world presently. Much of this paper will focus on the efforts of George Creel and the Committee on Public Information efforts to promote World War I, and how this organization impacted the development of marketing during its short existence.

“Rouse English Virtue in Each English Heart”: The Role of the Gentleman’s Magazine in the Propaganda War Against the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745–46

ABSTRACT The Jacobite Rebellion of 1745–46 precipitated a full-scale propaganda campaign in the English press to arouse patriotism and rally Great Britain in support of Protestantism, the existing Constitution in Church and State, and the Hanoverian dynasty. The resultant battle for hearts and minds would rely in part on patriotic principle and in part on vicious invective, utilizing all of the traditional propagandistic tools of exaggeration, ridicule, insult, and manipulation of fear and prejudice, in this case by inflaming bigotry against Roman Catholicism, ingrained Francophobia, contempt for “backward” Scottish Highlanders, and abhorrence of royal absolutism. In the ensuing press campaign the Gentleman’s Magazine under the leadership of its editor, Edward Cave, would play a major role of hitherto unrecognized importance, maximizing to full advantage its digest format (tailor-made for offering readers a wide sampling of polemical sources), its large print runs, its tremendous extended readership, and its easy availability to a national audience, as it repurposed itself into a leading organ of anti-Jacobite propaganda.

British Photographic Propaganda in World War II

The study of an Arabic newspaper published by the British during World War II shows how photographs played an important role in the propaganda campaign to gain Arab support in the Middle East. While the newspaper purported to cover the war, in actuality, the content contained mostly cultural photographs that contributed to the Allies’ implementation of psychological warfare, particularly emphasizing Arab identity, lifestyle in England, development in the Arab World, and the solid Arab–Allies relationship. The results of this study demonstrate how photographs played an important role in the propaganda machine, which, in this case, was intended to positively impress Arabs and Muslims in the Arabian Peninsula and turn them against the Axis.

“Basically, it’s a History of the Russian State”: Russocentrism, Etatism, and the Ukrainian Question in Stalin’s Editing of the 1937 Short History of the USSR

Abstract Joseph Stalin and the Soviet party leadership launched a major propaganda campaign in 1931 that called for a new approach to Soviet history, not only for scholars and pedagogues but for society as a whole. A veritable “search for a usable past,” this initiative was to bolster the authority and legitimacy of the state and rally the population together in patriotic unity by connecting the prerevolutionary past to the Stalinist present. When this new historical line was finally unveiled in 1937, it challenged earlier Soviet sloganeering on subjects like nationalism, imperialism, and colonialism. This article examines how Stalin attempted to reconcile his new “usable past” with these other ideological priorities, focusing on a case study of the so-called Ukrainian question within the context of the USSR’s broader reevaluation of tsarist-era imperialism and colonial policy.

Biopolitical media discourse in France in the COVID-19 pandemics

The publication activities of the French media during the COVID-19 pandemic in a biopolitical way are analyzed. The theoretical frame of the study is set by Michel Foucault's concept of biopolitics, as well as the propaganda model of Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky. To collect and analyze empirical data, the methods of computational linguistics and the method of identifying contextual ideologemes were applied. The research materials were the texts of independent media (Le Figaro, Le Monde, Le Parisien), identified using the keywords “pandemic” and “COVID-19” during the four waves of the pandemic (from January 2020 to March 2022). A total of 29,584 Le Figaro articles, 22,446 Le Monde articles, and 6,402 Le Parisien articles were used in the research. The purpose of the research is to analyze the strategies for including the French media in the biopolitical practices of propaganda and public education on the example of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result of the research, it turned out that the studied media during the pandemic were integrated both into general information campaigns and into biopolitical education and propaganda campaigns. Two scenarios for organizing media discourse during the pandemic of COVID-19 were identified, determined by target groups and media tasks. The first scenario actively involves educational and propaganda tools to promote state biopolitical goals. The second scenario integrates informing readers about the COVID-19 pandemic and the measures used by the authorities for biopolitical control, with the presentation of the hierarchies of responsible persons/ institutions (within the state biopolitics). It is concluded that the participation of French independent media in the active promotion of biopolitical programs indicates their close connection with the actors and subjects of biopolitics - the state or business representatives.

Of hovels and homes: consumption, class, and domestic space in early republican Turkey

In histories of preventing and treating tuberculosis, many physicians came to prioritize the place and role of the home by the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This was as true in the West as it was in the late Ottoman Empire. Also common, practices of scapegoating the poor and other marginalized populations as TB’s sources and carriers were pervasive. In this article, we examine how ideas of health, TB, and home converged to accentuate class in the ostensibly objective public health literature and propaganda of late Ottoman and early republican Turkey. Analyzing both textual and graphic narratives found in primary sources written in Ottoman Turkish, our study explores how officials – lacking resources and alternatives – opted to pursue ambitious public health propaganda campaigns to at least achieve broad educational inoculation of the population. In doing so, rudimentary matters of treatment were taught and legislated in ways that aligned with the contemporary propagation of national citizenship.

ECHOES OF THE «PRAGUE SPRING» OF 1968 IN TRANSCARPATHIA: ACCORDING TO THE MATERIALS OF THE STATE ARCHIVE OF THE TRANSCARPATHIAN REGION

The article highlights the question of the reaction of the party and Soviet leadership, as well as the population of the Transcarpathian region to the events in Czechoslovakia in 1968. The study is based on the materials of the State Archive of the Transcarpathian Region, which were not previously published. We note that the archive did not include the main documents - the materials of the 3rd plenum of the regional committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine, which considered the issue of events in Czechoslovakia. This happened at the level of acquisition of the fund in October 1990. In total, 25 cases P-1 have been withdrawn from the description of 6 funds. Some materials are preserved in the «Soviet» fund R-195. We are talking about the certificates and information that the party and Soviet leadership sent to the republican center, as well as letters from the chairman of the regional executive committee of the Transcarpathian regional council V. Rusin and the head of the culture department of the Transcarpathian regional executive committee V. Kerechanin to the first secretary of the Transcarpathian regional committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine Yu. Ilnitsky. The Soviet leadership saw the events in Czechoslovakia as a direct threat to the socialist system. Therefore, the propagandists were entrusted with the task of «correctly» conveying the party's policy for members of the CPSU, as well as broad segments of the population. For this, special information letters were sent in the region of the Ukrainian SSR. Researchers have identified at least two propaganda campaigns to interpret the «Prague Spring»: the first (summer 1968) – aimed at supporting the official position of the USSR on the events in Czechoslovakia; the second – in August 1968 – from the «popular» discussion of the TASS message about «fraternal assistance» – the introduction of troops of the Warsaw Pact Organization into Czechoslovakia. Under special supervision was the Transcarpathian region – the territory that in 1920-1930. was an integral part of Czechoslovakia. Here, state security agencies especially closely monitored the reaction of the population to events in Czechoslovakia. A significant number of the recorded 1,182 cases of critical statements and assessments of the situation from «anti-Soviet positions», were in Transcarpathia. The leadership of the region was entrusted with a number of tasks: through the exchange of delegations through party, Soviet, Komsomol, trade union bodies, public organizations, cultural and sports societies, journalists to communicate with the leadership of the East Slovak region, to receive the necessary information from them regarding the development of events in Czechoslovakia; inform the senior republican leadership; restrict access to information that came from Czechoslovakia through radio, television, the press; propaganda processing of ordinary members of the CPSU and the population of the Transcarpathian region.

British Edition of the Monroe Doctrine versus ‘Com- munist Militarism’: Collisions between the USSR and the UK in Eastern Countries in the mid-1920s

The new US foreign policy concept in the Western hemisphere introduced by the American President J. Monroe in December 1823 has become a milestone both in the country’s history and in the theory and practice of international relations in general. For Great Britain, the principles of the Monroe Doctrine acquired new relevance after the end of the First World War. The prospect of unfettered Bolshevik expansion into British colonies and dependent territories in Asia and Africa became a matter of particular concern for the UK ruling circles. It was this threat that forced the military and political elites of Great Britain to turn to the experience of their overseas counterparts and develop a set of measures that can be described as the British edition of the Monroe Doctrine. These measures were directed right against the Bolsheviks’ attempts to revolutionize the national liberation movement and to use it to undermine the ‘colonial rear’ of the imperialist powers. British decision-makers interpreted these attempts as a Bolsheviks’ endeavor to revive the foreign policy practices of the Russian Empire and denoted them as ‘communist militarism’. It is through the lens of the collision of the British edition of the Monroe Doctrine and the concept of ‘communist militarism’ that this study examines the dynamics of the Soviet-British confrontation in Central Asia in the mid-1920s. Special attention is paid to the struggle that took place between the two countries in Iran (Persia), Afghanistan, northwest India, Xinjiang and Tibet. This competition for influence over local rulers took a variety of forms: from information and propaganda campaigns to rivalry in the field of infrastructure and logistics projects. At the same time, it was accompanied by a constant clash of interests of various factions within the USSR and Great Britain, which prevented them from pursuing a coherent policy in the region. Together, these circumstances endowed the Soviet-British rivalry in Central Asia in the 1920s with a number of unique features that does not allow it to be interpreted as just yet another round of the ‘Great Game’.

“Make Known”: Historical Memory, Politics of Memory and Historical Monuments of the Russian Empire

Historical memory is a necessary element of the nation-building process. It has various forms of realization, including visual ones. The article discusses one of the forms of visualization of historical memory through specific historical places – officially confirmed historical monuments. The author proves the thesis that the list of national historical monuments depended on the history politics implemented by the authorities and considers the evolution of this politics from 1826 (the first decree of Emperor Nicholas I on compiling in Russia a list of historical monuments, this was done by the Ministry of the Interior) until 1917. Initially, the authorities sought to recreate the picture of the historical past by fixing the surviving monuments. However historical politics was changing in the late 19th – early 20th centuries. The purpose of the empire was to present Russian history as the apotheosis of the Romanov dynasty, especially its last representatives (Alexander II, Alexander III, Nicholas II). Therefore, according to their description of 1901–1903, most historical monuments were modern monuments to the last emperors and members of the imperial family. They were not historical monuments in the true sense of the term. It was an ideological, a propaganda campaign. The author draws attention to its inefficiency; these monuments could not improve the image of the Romanovs in the eyes of society. The author draws attention to the similarity of the principles of visualization of history through historical monuments in the Russian Empire and the USSR. In both cases, an ideological basis shaped the history politics, which was less about preserving historical memory and more about ideology and channeling specific ideas through selected monuments. Moreover, in both cases, it was a cause of inefficiency of history politics.

Sino-futurism and alternative imaginaries of Digital China

This paper investigates the role of digital technologies in transforming China's self-image. It focuses on the use of extended reality (XR) in ceremonial events and art exhibitions. The paper offers two case studies. The first study, Beijing 8-Minute Show (2018), a multimedia performance at the closing ceremony of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympic Games, set the scene for what was called the Science and Technology Winter Olympics in 2022. The second study, Blueprints (2020), was a multimedia exhibition in the UK by the artist Cao Fei, which drew attention to a future of increased alienation, loss of privacy and digital surveillance. In the paper, the framework of a ‘techno-cultural imaginary’ shows how China's self-image is increasingly tied to modernisation. The paper demonstrates how the ‘two cultures’, science and the arts, have converged in policy thinking. In this reset, China's so-called cultural confidence is re-energised by digital platforms, echoing the description of Digital China. Sino-futurism, originally used in relation to Chinese sci-fi literature, provides a stepping-off point to imagine the future, which is alternatively characterised as techno-utopian (within China) and dystopian (in the West). Drawing on the qualitative analysis of publicly available interviews, media reports, online comments and close reading of the art content, the paper argues that XR allows the government to present Digital China as a positive blueprint for human progress. Meanwhile, XR is capable of generating critical stories about China, which contradict the message the government seeks to cultivate with its public diplomacy and propaganda campaigns.

The Historical Evolution of Russophilia in Europe: a Study of the Development and Transformation of Positive Attitudes Towards Russia

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the historical trajectory, spread, and evolution of russophilia, a sociological phenomenon that exists in contemporary Europe. The article conducts a comprehensive analysis of the developmental process of russophilia in Europe, tracing its origins from the early stages of primitive sympathy towards the Russian state during the Middle Ages to its subsequent conscious ideological-cultural and political-economic manifestations in the 20th century. Furthermore, the article examines the contemporary projection of russophilia, which reached its pinnacle in the aforementioned region during the 20th century, while also exploring the factors contributing to the current decline of russophilia.
 The article introduces a significant scientific contribution by being the pioneering study to comprehensively explore the historical evolution of russophilia in Europe. Previous research on russophilia has been limited in scope, with only a few articles addressing the topic in a fragmented manner. Prior to this article, there has been a lack of comprehensive studies examining the overall development of russophilia in Europe. Therefore, this article stands as the first comprehensive endeavor in this field of research, filling a notable gap in the existing literature.
 Conclusions. The results of the study shed light on the origins and development of russophilia in Europe, examining both Western and Eastern regions. Key factors contributing to russophilia include the influence of communism, particularly the USSR, as well as cultural expansion. Effective propaganda campaigns and the establishment of economic and social connections play crucial roles in fostering admiration for another culture. Ethnic kinship alone is insufficient to foster deep affinity without widespread and systematic propaganda integrated into state policy. Nostalgia for communism, fuelled by shared experiences and the positive aspects of former communist systems, also contributes to russophilia. Countries such as East Germany, Poland, and Serbia etc., which underwent communist rule, exhibit heightened russophilia. The common fate shared by these nations, including the same political ideology, communist culture, and perceived defeat by the capitalist USA, further strengthens russophilia sentiments among communist nostalgics.

The flood, the traitors, and the protectors: affect and white identity in the Internet Research Agency’s Islamophobic propaganda on Twitter

ABSTRACT Between 2015 and 2017, the Internet Research Agency (IRA) – a Kremlin-backed “troll farm” based in St. Petersburg – executed a propaganda campaign on Twitter to target US voters. Scholarship has expended relatively little effort to study the role of Islamophobia in the IRA’s propaganda campaign. Following critical disinformation research, this article demonstrates that Islamophobia, affect, and white identity played a crucial role in the IRA’s targeting of right-wing US voters. With an official release of tweets and associated visual content from Twitter, we use topic modeling and visual analysis to explore both how, and to what extent, the IRA used Islamophobia in its propaganda. To do so, we develop a multimodal distant reading technique to study how the IRA aligned users with contemporary far right social movements by deploying racial and emotional appeals that center on narrating a transnational white identity under threat from Islam and Muslims.

Zwalczanie chorób wenerycznych występujących w pierwszych latach powojennych wśród żołnierzy WP na podstawie publikacji zamieszczonych w „Lekarzu Wojskowym”

Combating venereal diseases occurring in the first post-war years among Polish Army soldiers on the basis on publications in “Military Physician” The article discusses issues related to combating venereal diseases among Polish Army soldiers in the last months of World War II and in the first post-war years, based on the bibliography of “Military Physician” from the discussed period. In January 1945 publishing of the magazine addressed to military doctors was resumed and aimed to inform about the developments of the military health service, promotion of new medical achievements and theories on their practical use. One of the serious problems discussed in the journal were venereal diseases, which recorded an epidemic increase in incidence, especially syphilis. A systematic, planned action to combat these diseases was already carried out in the 2nd Army of the Polish Army, where venereology ranked second among medical specialties. In the post-war period, the fight against the epidemic was undertaken by the Ministry of Health on a national scale. Legal regulations were introduced, appropriate laboratory, diagnostic and treatment facilities were prepared, effective drugs were used, including penicillin. One of the forms of infection prevention was the implementation of serological tests among the population, detection of sources of infection and conducting a wide propaganda campaign. The military health service worked closely with state authorities. The actions taken turned out to be beneficial and already in 1948 a clear decrease in the incidence of venereal diseases was observed.

The political use of encrypted messaging applications: Evidence from southeast Asia and its implications for the global public sphere

Global Internet users face rising challenges with well-organized disinformation and propaganda campaigns. Scholars have studied this challenge by examining political communication over social media platforms including Facebook, YouTube, and X (formerly Twitter). Much less work has examined the manipulative political role of encrypted messaging applications (EMAs), despite their massive popularity around the world. Our research examines EMAs as elements of the global public sphere through 16 qualitative interviews with people who design and track propaganda campaigns online in three ASEAN nations: Indonesia, Myanmar, and the Philippines. Interviewees report that: 1) politicians and political groups harness EMAs in coordinated efforts to inorganically amplify their own agendas; 2) disinformation proliferates on EMAs, but civil society works to address this; and, 3) while citizens see the encrypted aspect of EMAs as powerful for civic engagement, they also feel it presents unique barriers to addressing what has become a serious problem with disinformation on EMAs.

The (de)-politicization of Internet memes in Chinese national youth propaganda campaign

ABSTRACT Visual political communication in the social media sphere is increasingly valuable for its ability to more effectively persuade viewers in this increasingly cluttered media landscape. Using multi-model discourse analysis and following the theoretical framework of Everyday Politics, this study focuses on a random sample (N = 200) of user-generated Internet memes from Chinese national youth propaganda campaign Youth Study. In addition, the author observed the sharing and dissemination of these memes in online public discussions. The findings reveal that young participants maintain a varying distance from politics. They employ strategies such as dark humor, hyperbole, contrast, and appropriation of pop culture to portray two key roles – the charming, brilliant followers and the abandoned, hunted breakers, and to construct four main scenarios-cute threat, humble beg, funny politics, and veiled resistance. This politicized propaganda campaign is being transformed from state aspirations to the creative daily cultural consumption of young netizens. This analysis contributes to the scholarly literature on youth subcultures, political mobilization, and visual propaganda in post-socialist China.