Mediating Platform Nationalism: The Production of Mango TV's Documentary <i>Pomegranate Blossoms</i> in China

ABSTRACT This article examines platform nationalism in China, exploring how platforms mediate nationalist discourse through an ethnographic case study of Mango TV's documentary series Pomegranate Blossoms ( shiliu huakai 石榴花开). It reveals how platform nationalism operates in situ, highlighting its ambiguous and contingent character. The research demonstrates how Mango TV navigates the tension between state‐mandated ideological objectives and market‐driven content production, reflecting the broader dynamics of state‐platform symbiosis in China's digital economy. The article argues that platform nationalism in China thrives in ambiguity, democratising discourse while centralising control, and empowering participation while constraining dissent. This duality underscores the tension between platform logic and individual agency, as producers navigate ambiguous political boundaries to avoid crossing state‐mandated ‘red lines’. This study contributes an ethnographic lens to platform nationalism, demonstrating how platforms reproduce state frameworks while facilitating fragmented negotiations of belonging.