The Chinese government’s external-propaganda efforts are receiving a boost from AI. A report published by Graphika last month analyzed what it described as a China-based network of domains and social media accounts using...
China is scheduled to host a large-scale “Victory Day” military parade on September 3 to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II (referred to in China as the “War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.”) China...
The first reaction by China’s state-media apparatus following the escalating U.S.-China trade war last week was to censor online commentary about the scale of tariffs. Now, it has responded with targeted messaging intended to...
This week, 20-year-old American influencer Darren Watkins Jr., better known as IShowSpeed, concluded a multi-week, high-profile tour of China. With nearly 120 million online followers across all of his platforms, IShowSpeed...
The release last month of DeepSeek’s AI chatbot has supercharged the global AI race and amplified concerns over the use of AI in online censorship, surveillance, and propaganda. American company OpenAI published a report on...
Over the summer, five scandals dominated Chinese social media: the stabbing of a Chinese school bus attendant in an anti-Japanese outburst; the suicide of a young diver after her coach raped her; the contamination of cooking oil...
The following censorship instructions have been distributed online. In order to create a festive and harmonious atmosphere for online discourse during Spring Festival, the Central Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) has...
A novel propaganda method—a “video call” from Xi Jinping delivering Lunar New Year’s well-wishes—inspired titters after China Central Television (CCTV) shared it on Weibo. The Weibo link sent users to a faux WeChat...
Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang is currently on a five-nation tour of Africa as part of his first official overseas trip in his new position. His itinerary includes Ethiopia, Gabon, Angola, Benin, and Egypt, continuing a...
As thousands across China erupted into a weekend of nationwide protests following a deadly fire in Urumqi, authorities used various propaganda tactics in traditional and social media to minimize the spread of public discontent...
A series of recent reports shows the variety of tactics employed to extend Chinese influence into foreign countries, particularly their information ecosystems. The reports outline the strengths and weaknesses of these influence...
Late last week, censors wiped Weibo clean of posts documenting the chaos of pandemic control measures in Lhasa, Tibet. In mid-August, Tibet began reporting thousands of new cases in the region’s first documented outbreak...
Last week, the NGO Freedom House released a special report titled “Beijing’s Global Media Influence 2022: Authoritarian Expansion and the Power of Democratic Resilience.” The report analyzes the growth of the CCP’s global...
The following censorship instructions, issued to the media by government authorities, have been leaked and distributed online. @Everyone Notice from the Public Security Internet Monitoring Department: Effective immediately, no...
A report released this week by UN Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Slavery Tomoya Obokata stated that it is “reasonable to conclude” that there is forced labor in Xinjiang, and that certain instances of it “may amount...
A viral video about a 66-year-old disabled rural man weathering adversity with resourcefulness and optimism has touched the hearts of hundreds of millions of Chinese citizens—and touched off a complex debate about poverty,...
This week saw the proliferation of COVID conspiracy theories on Chinese social media, the suppression of a popular hashtag about the Xuzhou trafficking and abuse case, and a Global Times broadside aimed at discrediting the...
This week, a slew of new reports on China’s online propaganda campaigns was released. As researchers documented, the CCP is increasingly using foreign influencers to disseminate pro-China narratives on Western social...
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