Dien Nguyen An Luong is a Visiting Fellow with the Media, Technology and Society Programme of ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute and a PhD Candidate in Communication and Media at the University of Michigan.
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Dien Nguyen An Luong
Articles by Dien Nguyen An Luong (31)
Vietnam’s Police Are Joking Online and That Makes Their Messaging More Serious
Dien Nguyen An Luong
The unusual turn taken in a social media page run by a Vietnamese police anti-drug unit shows how controlling the conversation through humour can be a useful weapon.
Vietnam’s Quest for Online Positivity Could Breed Negativity
Dien Nguyen An Luong
Hanoi’s efforts to enlist social media influencers to spread positive narratives risk hurting their credibility, encountering platform pushback, and ultimately backfiring at home and abroad.
How Vietnam Turns a Celebrity’s Misstep into a Cautionary Tale of Patriotism
Dien Nguyen An Luong
The coordinated pushback against a Vietnamese influencer who had lamented the passing of a cultural icon shows that the state values displays of patriotism, but only if such displays toe the party line.
Elite Competition and Narrative Inconsistency in Vietnam’s Propaganda Apparatus
Dien Nguyen An Luong|Nguyen Khac Giang
This Long Read argues that Vietnam’s propaganda apparatus is increasingly shaped by internal tensions between two informal but influential elite coalitions. On one side are conservative actors embedded in the military and ideology apparatus, who prioritise ideological orthodoxy and regime security. On the other are reformist pragmatists, often drawn from diplomatic and economic institutions, who place greater emphasis on performance legitimacy, international engagement, and administrative modernisation.
Vietnam’s Trump Card: Navigating Growth, Politics, and US Relations
Hoang Thi Ha|Dien Nguyen An Luong
Vietnam’s fast-tracking of a Trump-branded project is a high-stake diplomatic gambit to curry favour with the US president to ameliorate the extent of US tariffs. But the Trump project should also be viewed in the context of Hanoi’s relentless drive to do away with red tape and pro-business strategy.