AI-Driven Media Agenda Setting and Public Policy Response: Cases from Chinese Grassroots Governance

Yexuan Tian

doi:10.62051/ijgem.v10n5.02

Authors

Yexuan Tian

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.62051/ijgem.v10n5.02

Keywords:

Generative AI, Media Agenda Setting, Policy Responsiveness, Digital Governance, Grassroots Governance, China

Abstract

Generative artificial intelligence is reorganising media agenda setting, which is, in turn, shaping public policy response in China. This paper examines how existing response mechanisms adapt as public issues are increasingly shaped by algorithmic recommendation, short-video circulation, and AI-assisted communication. Using official documents, policy materials and examples from grassroots governance, it argues that AI has the potential to facilitate early issue detection, aggregate widely dispersed public concerns, and thus make response processes more data-sensitive. However, it is capable of splintering information, raising emotional content, directing attention to topics the platform traffic logic prefers, rather than public importance. The author contends that the fundamental constraints to the state of the policy response currently are not technical, but structural, with weak precision, incoherent interdepartmental cooperation, and inadequate follow-up and longer-term correction as the main limitations. What is, then, important is not just the use of AI, but how it is integrated into institutional practice. A more effective response relies on a framework linking monitoring, differentiated handling, coordination, and accountability.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

[1] Xinhua. (2026, February 5). China’s internet user base hits 1.125 billion as AI adoption surges. The State Council of the People’s Republic of China.

[2] Valle-Cruz, D., Criado, J. I., Sandoval-Almazán, R., & Ruvalcaba-Gomez, E. A. (2020). Assessing the public policy-cycle framework in the age of artificial intelligence: From agenda-setting to policy evaluation. Government Information Quarterly, 37(4), 101509.

[3] Chadwick, A. (2017). The Hybrid Media System: Politics and Power. Oxford University Press.

[4] Bennett, W. L., & Iyengar, S. (2008). A new era of minimal effects? The changing foundations of political communication. Journal of Communication, 58(4), 707–731.

[5] Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China. (2024, March 27). China Internet Audio-Visual Development Research Report (2024): Online audio-visual users reached 1.074 billion by the end of 2023. China Trade in Services.

[6] Flaxman, S., Goel, S., & Rao, J. M. (2016). Filter bubbles, echo chambers, and online news consumption. Public Opinion Quarterly, 80(S1), 298–320.

[7] Alon-Barkat, S., & Busuioc, M. (2023). Human–AI interactions in public sector decision making: “Automation bias” and “selective adherence” to algorithmic advice. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 33(1), 153–169.

[8] People’s Daily Online. (2026, March 23). People’s Daily Online releases data analysis report on Message Board for Leaders during the 14th Five-Year Plan period. People’s Daily Online.

[9] Soroka, S. N., & Wlezien, C. (2010). Degrees of Democracy: Politics, Public Opinion, and Policy. Cambridge University Press.

[10] Romanishyn, A., Malytska, O., & Goncharuk, V. (2025). AI-driven disinformation: Policy recommendations for democratic resilience. Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence, 8, 1569115.

[11] Gasco-Hernandez, M., Gil-Garcia, J. R., & Luna-Reyes, L. F. (2022). Unpacking the role of technology, leadership, governance and collaborative capacities in inter-agency collaborations. Government Information Quarterly, 39(3), 101710.

[12] National Development and Reform Commission of the People’s Republic of China. (2022, December 15). Implementation Plan for the Strategy of Expanding Domestic Demand during the 14th Five-Year Plan Period. State Council of the People’s Republic of China.

[13] Al-Ansi, A. M., Garad, A., Jaboob, M., & Al-Ansi, A. (2024). Elevating e-government: Unleashing the power of AI and IoT for enhanced public services. Heliyon, 10(23).

[14] The State Council Information Office of the People’s Republic of China. (2023, March 16). China’s law-based cyberspace governance in the new era.

[15] Ansell, C., & Gash, A. (2018). Collaborative platforms as a governance strategy. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 28(1), 16–32.

[16] The General Office of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China. (2021, January 6). Government service hotlines to be optimized. The State Council of the People’s Republic of China.

[17] The General Office of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China. (2025, June 26). China to further standardize, enhance 12345 hotline services. The State Council of the People’s Republic of China.