The week-long 19th Party Congress concluded in Beijing on Oct. 24 and a new Chinese leadership team for the next 5 years was introduced to the world the next day.

President Xi Jinping has further consolidated his power to become the most powerful Chinese leader since Mao Zedong, and  looks set to push on with his agenda of making China great again.

Viral online propaganda campaign

Chinese celebrities on China's most popular micro-blogging platform, Weibo, have joined in the praises of Xi's elevated status by saluting his newly enshrined ideology -- the "Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era".

In an online propaganda campaign initiated by People's Daily on Oct. 19, a day after the party congress officially started, the Weibo hashtag '#Give a shoutout to the new era' (#为新时代打call) was posted together with videos of these celebrities expressing their patriotism and support for the party: "In the new era, it is our turn to strive to make China really strong!"

The Weibo hashtag topic has since gone viral amassed more than 440 million video views and more than 1.5 million comments.

Support by popular celebrities

In a matter of days, the campaign turned into an online hit, as the widespread support of China's highly popular celebrities accelerated the slogan's awareness exponentially among netizens on the social media platform.

Here are some of these participating Chinese celebrities:

Lang Lang: A popular Chinese concert pianist who has performed worldwide with leading orchestras such as those in Europe, the U.S., and his native country China.

Zhang Yixing (Lay): A Chinese artist best known as a member and main dancer of the South Korean-Chinese boy group Exo and its sub-unit Exo-M.

[related_story]

Wang Ziwen (Olivia Wang): A Chinese actress best known for starring in the popular Chinese television drama, Ode to Joy.

 

Dilraba Dilmurat: A Chinese actress of Uyghur ethnicity best known for her supporting roles in historical fantasy dramas such as Three Lives Three Worlds Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms and Swords of Legends.

Increasingly sophisticated propaganda effort

The online campaign is part of a broader and more sophisticated propaganda effort to drum up support for the Chinese Communist Party over the past week.

For example, there was a  viral mobile game that collects claps for President Xi, and a rap video produced by state broadcaster CCTV that served as a comprehensive explainer of the Chinese government's strategies for Xi's 'new era'.

The use of celebrities reflects how officials have adapted to changing times in an era of celebrity culture.

Top composite image via Weibo

Related stories: