Exclusive: The videos are meant to look like everyday life.
But our investigation found that they're part of an elaborate effort by China to shape world opinion about Xinjiang, where Uyghurs are living under repressive government policies. nyti.ms/3gPH04A
But our investigation found that they're part of an elaborate effort by China to shape world opinion about Xinjiang, where Uyghurs are living under repressive government policies. nyti.ms/3gPH04A
The New York Times and @propublica analyzed 3,000 videos to reveal evidence of a campaign orchestrated by China's government.
The operation has produced and spread thousands of videos in which Chinese citizens deny abuses against their own communities.
The operation has produced and spread thousands of videos in which Chinese citizens deny abuses against their own communities.
The dialogue in hundreds of videos has strikingly similar, and often identical, phrases and structures.
Most are in Chinese or Uyghur and follow the same basic script. Establishing that officials had a hand in making the videos is sometimes just a matter of asking, we found.
Most are in Chinese or Uyghur and follow the same basic script. Establishing that officials had a hand in making the videos is sometimes just a matter of asking, we found.
China's effort has in essence turned platforms like Twitter and YouTube — both banned in China — into high-speed propaganda pipelines for Beijing.
In just a few days, videos establishing China’s version of reality can be shot, edited and amplified across the internet.
In just a few days, videos establishing China’s version of reality can be shot, edited and amplified across the internet.
The videos often jumped onto other Chinese platforms before making their way onto global social media sites like Twitter and YouTube.
We found more than 300 accounts sharing the videos whose posts strongly suggested they were no ordinary users.
We found more than 300 accounts sharing the videos whose posts strongly suggested they were no ordinary users.
Many of the accounts we analyzed often shared posts that were identical but for a random string of characters at the end. This caused the text of the posts to vary slightly — an apparent attempt to bypass Twitter’s automated anti-spam filters. Others had traces of computer code.
Several of the Xinjiang videos feature family members of exiled activist Rebiya Kadeer, 74, whom the Chinese government has accused of abetting terrorism. In one clip, two of her granddaughters appear.
The last time Kadeer saw them, they were infants.
The last time Kadeer saw them, they were infants.
“They know they’re not speaking the truth,” Kadeer said. “But they have to say what the Chinese government wants them to say.”
See our full investigation of how China spreads its propaganda about life in Xinjiang. And watch a selection of the 3,000 clips we analyzed in their entirety to see how the influence operation works for yourself. nyti.ms/3j1Fb7D
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