{
  "id": 13907774,
  "title": "How China harnesses AI microdramas to shape public opinion at home and abroad",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/12/how-china-harnesses-ai-microdramas-to-shape-public-opinion-at-home-13907774",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-10-12T08:03:06.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Reuters Business via SCMP",
    "slug": "reuters-business-via-scmp",
    "url": "https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3370547/how-china-harnesses-ai-microdramas-shape-public-opinion-home-and-abroad"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Beijing is rapidly increasing its use of artificial intelligence (AI) in producing short-form videos and microdramas for its publicity campaigns. This aligns with directives emphasizing technology's role in strengthening ideological work and shaping public opinion. While sensational themes currently dominate AI content on Chinese media platforms, a new wave of AI-generated miniseries is emerging, weaving in Chinese culture, policies, initiatives, developmental achievements, and revolutionary history. Most of these productions are created by Chinese publicity authorities and official media, often in collaboration with private studios and digital creators.\n\nOne recent example is \"The Iron Remembers,\" an AI microdrama produced by the news media centre of the People's Liberation Army. Its first episode was released last Thursday and features a unit of 128 troops defending a telegraph transmitter and hand-cranked generator during the Long March of 1934-1936. This historical retreat by the Communist Party's Red Army aimed to evade Kuomintang forces during the Chinese civil war. State-backed AI productions are part of Beijing's broader push to modernize official messaging, leverage emerging technologies to steer public opinion, and present national narratives more engagingly to home and international audiences.\n\nIn 2019, the Politburo, China's highest decision-making body, urged mainstream media to adapt new technologies to maximize publicity outcomes. President Xi Jinping emphasized the importance of a \"mobile-first strategy,\" highlighting the need for authorities to use modern science and technology to enhance social governance and ideological guidance. Local governments and official media across China have since updated their dissemination toolkits, incorporating proprietary mobile apps, immersive virtual-reality news videos, and digital collectibles to amplify the reach of state-sanctioned ideological and cultural content.\n\nWith generative AI technology flourishing, China has shifted its focus to AI-generated content. The country rolled out regulations for generative AI in 2023, requiring AI-powered content to adhere to \"socialist core values\" – 12 principles guiding individual morality and public ethics towards a prosperous, harmonious, and modern society under party leadership. The National Radio and Television Administration launched a strategy in May to promote the refinement, popularization, and internationalization of microdramas, aiming to produce 1,000 high-quality works annually on themes like mainstream values, historical milestones, and regional cultures. The Iron Remembers comes ahead of the 90th anniversary of the Long March, a symbol of resilience and sacrifice that Beijing frequently uses to boost patriotism and foster national unity.",
  "summary": "Beijing is rapidly scaling up the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to produce short-form videos and microdramas in its publicity campaigns, aligning with directives stressing technology’s role in strengthening ideological work and guiding public opinion. In contrast to sensational tropes dominating AI content across Chinese media platforms – such as Cinderella romance, rebirth for revenge and…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "South China Morning Post",
        "title": "How China harnesses AI microdramas to shape public opinion at home and abroad",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/12/how-china-harnesses-ai-microdramas-to-shape-public-opinion-at-home",
        "published": "2026-10-12T08:03:06.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}