Propaganda in the Linguistic Landscape A Multimodal Analysis of the
“Yinghe” Public Health Communication in China
Abstract
In response to the resurgence of the Omicron variant cluster in many
parts of China, national health communicators have had to provide
effective public health communication for Chinese individuals and
communities to follow the “dynamic zero COVID” policy. This paper
investigates the role of propaganda in the linguistic landscape during
the critical stage of “dynamic zero COVID” in Shanghai. In particular,
this article examines the “Yinghe” (hardcore) public health
communication by demonstrating a wide array of propaganda including red
banners, catchy slogans, online posts which were collected from both
physical and digital space between March and June 2022. Data sources
included written text, images, audio, videos and other semiotic
artifacts from multiple sources. Analysis drew on a multimodal
analytical lens and multimodal analysis platform. Findings reveal that
the contextual meaning of exclusion is manifested by examining the
strident language of blunt slogans of anti-epidemic grassroots banners.
More importantly, the interrelationship between linguistic and semiotic
assemblages contributes to establishing the multimodal and multilingual
propaganda to guide people to follow this policy. This study offers a
unique insight into health communication by connecting ties between
propaganda, policy and public health.