Several recently released reports have shed new light on China’s international efforts to bolster its image and manipulate public opinion, through both traditional and social media. Two reports were released this week, one by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the other by Oxford’s Internet Institute in cooperation with the Associated Press. The IFJ\u2019s report provided new details on China’s leveraging of traditional media outlets abroad to promote its image, while the Oxford report looked at China\u2019s use of Twitter as a new public stage for its aggressive \u201cwolf-warrior\u201d diplomacy. Taken together, they provide an intricate picture of China’s contemporary public opinion influence efforts, revealing a newfound level of sophistication and adeptness at leveraging Western platforms to promote China’s view of the world.<\/p>\n

For the Associated Press, Erika Kinetz reported an in-depth story on AP and the Oxford Internet Institute’s findings:<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

A seven-month investigation by the Associated Press and the Oxford Internet Institute, a department at Oxford University, found that China\u2019s rise on Twitter has been powered by an army of fake accounts that have retweeted Chinese diplomats and state media tens of thousands of times, covertly amplifying propaganda that can reach hundreds of millions of people \u2014 often without disclosing the fact that the content is government-sponsored.<\/p>\n

[\u2026] More than half the retweets Liu [Xiaoming, China’s most recent ambassador to the U.K.] got from June through January came from accounts that Twitter has suspended for violating the platform\u2019s rules, which prohibit manipulation. Overall, more than one in ten of the retweets 189 Chinese diplomats got in that time frame came from accounts that Twitter had suspended by Mar. 1.<\/p>\n

But Twitter\u2019s suspensions did not stop the pro-China amplification machine. An additional cluster of fake accounts, many of them impersonating U.K. citizens, continued to push Chinese government content, racking up over 16,000 retweets and replies before Twitter kicked them off late last month and early this month, in response to the AP and Oxford Internet Institute\u2019s investigation.<\/p>\n

This fiction of popularity can boost the status of China\u2019s messengers, creating a mirage of broad support. It can also distort platform algorithms, which are designed to boost the distribution of popular posts, potentially exposing more genuine users to Chinese government propaganda. While individual fake accounts may not seem impactful on their own, over time and at scale, such networks can distort the information environment, deepening the reach and authenticity of China\u2019s messaging.<\/p>\n

[\u2026] Twitter, and others, have identified inauthentic pro-China networks before. But the AP and Oxford Internet Institute investigation shows for the first time that large-scale inauthentic amplification has broadly driven engagement across official government and state media accounts, adding to evidence that Beijing\u2019s appetite for guiding public opinion \u2014 covertly, if necessary \u2014 extends beyond its borders and beyond core strategic interests, like Taiwan, Hong Kong and Xinjiang. [Source<\/strong><\/a>]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Oxford’s researchers also found that an initiative by social media platforms to label state-affiliated social media accounts, including Chinese state media, were effective in curbing engagement and re-sharing of those accounts’ tweets. But they noted significant shortcomings in the platform’s labelling systems, which missed a large number of accounts:<\/p>\n

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\ud83d\udde3 despite their high levels of activity, Chinese diplomat accounts are rarely given a \u201cgovernment\u201d label by social media accounts. On Twitter only 14% of Chinese diplomat accounts have a \u201cgovernment\u201d label. pic.twitter.com\/qZk7Bmeqiv<\/a><\/p>\n

— Hannah Bailey (@Hannah_LSBailey) May 11, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n