Last week saw the eruption of what The New York Times described as "one of the more improbable football-related storylines of recent times." French footballer Kylian Mbappé was widely condemned in China over a comment...
"Lately, I’ve grown used to quiet, uneventful days." Several users have reported permanent suspensions from WeChat Moments and QQ after posting this sentence, which apparently triggered keyword scans with its...
The post translated below, from WeChat account 守一手记 (Shǒuyī Shǒujì, “Shouyi’s Notes”), examines conflicting attitudes and selective scrutiny on Chinese social media when it comes to foreign views of China. Foreign media coverage...
The post translated below, from WeChat account “Summer Flavors,” argues that keyword-based censorship on Chinese online platforms is missing the mark, both unnecessarily restricting harmless speech and failing to address the...
Late last month, Caixin published an update on the case, prompting commentator and former investigative journalist Chu Chaoxin to post a belated but heartfelt plea for Jing Shuren’s release. He emphasizes that Jing was for...
CDT recently published a large set of leaked internal instructions for online content management from the Chinese platform Leshi Video, or LeTV. They were issued to LeTV between March 2, 2017 and March 10, 2020 by the Cyberspace...
The post below, the latest in a series of translated accounts by Chinese users grappling with online censorship, bemoans automated comment moderation on WeChat public accounts. The author, on her account "May’s...
Chinese teachers have long complained about being overworked and frequently called upon to perform various “busywork” tasks outside of teaching, such as filling out forms and surveys, nagging students to wear helmets while...
Last October, former Global Times editor Hu Xijin lamented—not for the first time—the narrowing of public discourse in China. He argued that mounting intolerance meant that "many people are growing far more cautious about...
In an article published to its official WeChat account on Tuesday, the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS) accused unnamed “foreign organizations” of trying to brainwash Chinese youth into “lying flat” (also “lying down” or...
This month, feminist blogger 三月vulcanus (Sānyuè vulcanus, "March vulcanus") announced that she would abandon her current WeChat account 三月云 (Sānyuè yún, "March Cloud") after a series of temporary suspensions....
China’s online censorship regime is often associated with overt blocks, deletions, and account bans, but these blunt and highly visible measures exist on a wide spectrum. Toward the harsher end are invitations to...
A pair of recent publications sheds light on different aspects of generative AI’s use in PRC information control activities and, in one case, on how that can backfire. A paper from Stanford’s Jennifer Pan and...
As 2025 draws to a close, CDT editors are compiling a series of the most notable content (Chinese) from across the Chinese internet over the past year. Topics include this year’s most outstanding quotes, reports, podcasts and...
Click on the image to download Firefly for circumvention
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