From Wild East to Forbidden City: Mapping Algorithmic News Distribution in China through a Case Study of Jinri Toutiao

AbstractDigital platforms, with their ever-increasing reach and power, are reshaping many aspects of society. China is experiencing a platformization of society akin to what has occurred in the West. By mapping the algorithmic news distribution field in China, this study shows how the key players (including digital platforms, news organizations, and state regulators) compete, collaborate, and work symbiotically with each other in this changing ecology. We explore a particularly key player—Jinri Toutiao, led by ByteDance (parent company of the popular app TikTok)—as a case that exemplifies the platform logic in China’s news ecosystem and how it involves a delicate dance with the public and regulators in a politically restrictive environment. We find that the mutual shaping of platforms and society is not a given but rather a dynamic process. Indeed, we show that Toutiao’s tremendous success is partially because of the state’s laissez-faire policy in the earlier years, and that its move to assume greater social responsibility is a response to recent tightening of regulations. Amid widespread questions about the role and influence of Big Tech and platforms in society, the case of China enriches our understanding of the platformization of news outside the Western context.