Reclaiming authenticity through image construction: wanghong as actors of China’s digital public diplomacy

“Wanghong” creators, individuals who have gained massive followings through their original content on social media, have increasingly become important actors in digital public diplomacy. They have effectively assumed the role of international “cultural intermediary.” Exploring this phenomenon and re-contextualizing wanghong within public diplomacy research is imperative, as it can enhance the authenticity of public diplomacy practices and drive the shift toward cultural digital public diplomacy. This study proposed an analytic framework and used mixed methods to analyze multimodal images of Li Ziqi, one of the most famous Chinese wanghong creators with a global audience. Results indicated that Li Ziqi primarily utilized three frames and five image narratives to construct her media image. Audience comments indicated a high degree of positive feedback and strong identification with the media image. Characterized by compelling storytelling, cultural performance, and empathy evocation, wanghong creators like Li Ziqi demonstrated a potential avenue for countering “anti-globalization” in the “VUCA” era. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited 2024.