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Xinjiang, China is an information vacuum. With reports of a million Uyghurs in detention, plus censorship, surveillance and a blackout on outside communication, it’s hard to know what’s happening. So Uyghurs abroad turned to an unlikely resource: TikTok codastory.com/authoritarian-…
If you think of Tiktok, ByteDance’s phenomenally successful Chinese-owned video-sharing app, you’ll probably think of videos like this.
Snappy. ✅ Short. ✅ Cut to pop music. ✅
And in Xinjiang, most of the videos are no different.
Snappy. ✅ Short. ✅ Cut to pop music. ✅
And in Xinjiang, most of the videos are no different.
But some TikTok videos share visual clues about life under Xinjiang surveillance. Like this one, which appears to show a line of Uyghurs waiting to pass through a Xinjiang security checkpoint.
That’s why international Uyghur activists are digging deep into TikTok & similar apps. They’ve found videos like these, that show China’s ongoing destruction of Uyghur and other Muslim architecture.
Aliye Yasin (not her real name) of @UygursOnTikTok found this video from the official police account in Yarkant County, Xinjiang.
The officers appear to be mostly Uyghur, and the sign above them suggests it’s part of a psychological support session.
The officers appear to be mostly Uyghur, and the sign above them suggests it’s part of a psychological support session.
Side note — our reporter @isocockerell has reported on the reality for Uyghurs working in Xinjiang’s police force. For context, check out her video here:
Back to TikTok. The Uyghurs collecting these videos do it to catalog their disappearing way of life.
At one point, Alip Erkin, who runs @UyghurBulletin from Australia, spent every waking hour scanning the Chinese internet for clues about the situation in his homeland.
At one point, Alip Erkin, who runs @UyghurBulletin from Australia, spent every waking hour scanning the Chinese internet for clues about the situation in his homeland.
Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, is behind China’s firewall. To gain entry, international Uyghur activists have to use Chinese phones.
@Mehmetjan5 is part of a group of students who collectively archive TikTok content using an old phone brought from Xinjiang.
@Mehmetjan5 is part of a group of students who collectively archive TikTok content using an old phone brought from Xinjiang.
To find compromising content from Xinjiang TikTok, the Uyghur activists “game” the app’s algorithm, which serves them content according to how they respond to each video.
“I only ‘like’ what I want to see,” says Alip Erkin of @UyghurBulletin.
“I only ‘like’ what I want to see,” says Alip Erkin of @UyghurBulletin.
Searching isn’t an option. Location-based TikTok search results are cleaned up by moderators. As the @washingtonpost reported this month, Hong Kong’s TikTok space barely hints at the city’s ongoing crisis. The same goes for Xinjiang. washingtonpost.com/technology/201…
TikTok is subject to censorship. Today, the @guardian reports that politically sensitive videos are deleted or don’t show up on feeds.
@UygursOnTiktok checks her app when it’s around midnight in China, and she thinks moderators are asleep. theguardian.com/technology/201…
@UygursOnTiktok checks her app when it’s around midnight in China, and she thinks moderators are asleep. theguardian.com/technology/201…
In August, a wave of videos on Xinjiang TikTok showed the same thing: Uyghurs, standing in front of pictures of their relatives. Many were crying. Activists like @arslan_hidayat believe the videos were a protest against China’s detention of Uyghurs
Uyghurs around the globe mobilized to promote the videos, using the hashtag #WeHearU.
But days later, @UygursOnTikTok searched again for the Uyghurs in Xinjiang who posted them. And many accounts had disappeared.
But days later, @UygursOnTikTok searched again for the Uyghurs in Xinjiang who posted them. And many accounts had disappeared.
This feature is part of an ongoing collaboration with @WIRED. Our reporter @isocockerell has covered the digital lives of Uyghurs for nearly a year.
You can read our previous feature here, about Uyghur women fighting China’s repression via smartphone.
codastory.com/authoritarian-…
You can read our previous feature here, about Uyghur women fighting China’s repression via smartphone.
codastory.com/authoritarian-…
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