Heather Zeiger

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Author
Heather Zeiger
Date
July 13, 2022

Categorized
Computer Security, Crime, Data Privacy, Surveillance

Tagged
Alibaba Group and Shanghai hack, China, China mass surveillance (inherent risk), Dark Web and Shanghai hack, Featured, Shanghai police data hack}

Largest Data Grab Ever Stole Shanghai’s Mass State Surveillance

_{The police, dutiful in monitoring everyone, flunked data security. Now it’s all for sale on the Dark Web} _{Heather Zeiger

July 13, 2022

8

Computer Security, Crime, Data Privacy, Surveillance}

Beijing wants to create a centralized database with personal information on everyone living in China. To do that, the government saves massive amounts of data acquired through surveillance technologies such facial and voice recognition and cell phone monitoring. In a previous article, we saw that the Chinese government’s surveillance network is much more extensive than once thought. However, while the Chinese government has prioritized collecting massive amounts of data, it has not prioritized protecting it. Thus, a hacker has acquired police data files on 1 billion Chinese residents (approximately 23 terabytes of data) from the Shanghai National Police database. The files include name, national ID number, cell phone number, birthdate, birthplace, ethnicity, education level, marital status, and delivery records. They Read More ›

Surveillance cameras at Tiananmen square in Beijing, China

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post

Author
Heather Zeiger
Date
July 1, 2022

Categorized
China, Data Privacy, Surveillance

Tagged
Biometric data and surveillance, China and AI supremacy aim, China and iris scanning for surveillance, China surveillance and biometric data, China surveillance and facial recognition, China surveillance and smart cameras, China surveillance equipment purchases, China surveillance phone trackers, China Twentieth Party Congress, China zero-Covid policies, ChinaFile and China surveillance, Featured, Iris scanning and surveillance, New York Times and China Surveillance, Phone trackers and surveillance, Smart cameras and China surveillance, Smart cameras and surveillance, Xi Jinping and twentieth congress, Xinjiang as demo project for all-China surveillance}

China Is Quite Serious About Total Surveillance of Every Citizen

_{Local governments are buying enough surveillance equipment to constantly watch 1.6 billion people, documents show} _{Heather Zeiger

July 1, 2022

8

China, Data Privacy, Surveillance}

The telescreen received and transmitted simultaneously… There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment… It was even conceivable that they watched everybody all the time. But at any rate they could plug in your wire whenever they wanted to. You had to live — did live, from habit that became instinct — in the assumption that every sound you made was overheard, and, except in darkness, every movement scrutinised. – George Orwell, 1984 The New York Times in partnership with ChinaFile has come out with a new report on the extent of China’s surveillance state. It is nothing short of an attempt to achieve total surveillance of its 1.4 billion people: Read More ›

Chinese flags on barbed wire wall in Kashgar (Kashi), Xinjiang, China.

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Author
Heather Zeiger
Date
June 8, 2022

Categorized
Censorship, China

Tagged
Adrian Zenz, Anihan Hamit, China data leaks on Uyghurs, Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Uyghurs, Chinese Communist Party PR re internment camps, Featured, Hawagul Tewekkul, International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), Newlines report on the Uyghur genocide, Rahile Omer, Uyghurs in "re-education" camps, Xinjiang Police Files, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region}

Digital Data Leaks Reveal Extent of Uyghur Oppression in China

_{Only in the last decade or so has true technological oppression of an entire people group was even possible. But at least it is a two-edged sword} _{Heather Zeiger

June 8, 2022

9

Censorship, China}

Hawagul Tewekkul’s tear-filled eyes are the first thing you see at the BBC’s interactive article, “The Faces from China’s Uyghur Detention Camps.” Her photo is one of 5,000 photos of Uyghurs and other Turkic minorities found in one of the largest data leaks on the Chinese Communist Party’s widespread oppression, internment, and cultural annihilation of the minorities living in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China. Hawagul Tewekkul was fifty years old in October 2017 when she was “detained for re-education.” Her offense was not stated. Uyghurs and other Turkic minorities have been sent to prison, often on unreasonable charges, or t “vocational re-education centers” as a part of Xi Jinping’s anti-terrorism campaign. Sometimes the training centers have been converted to Read More ›

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Author
Heather Zeiger
Date
February 16, 2022

Categorized
Censorship, Global Technology, Sports

Tagged
2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, Beijing, Cai Xia, China, Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Dilnigar, Kai Strittmatter, Orville Schell, Uyghurs, Xi Jinping, Xinjiang}

2022 Beijing Olympics: Politicizing the Olympic Games

_{One columnist wrote that unlike the 2008 games, the 2022 games “carries a distinct sense of foreboding.”} _{Heather Zeiger

February 16, 2022

10

Censorship, Global Technology, Sports}

Despite admonitions to not “politicalize the games,” Beijing’s opening ceremonies for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games conveyed a political message to the world. Politics has always been part of the Olympic Games. The impetus behind the modern Olympic Games, as conceived by William Penny Brookes and Pierre baron de Coubertin, was to use sports for promoting peace among nations, an inherently political agenda. Decisions on whether dignitaries will attend or who lights the torch are intentional on the part of the visiting and hosting countries, particularly since the first televised Games in 1960. Therefore, when the Chinese Olympic Committee chose first-time Olympic athlete Dinigeer Yilamujiang, also spelled Dilnigar Ilhamjan,* a twenty-year-old cross-country skier of Uyghur heritage, the country was Read More ›

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post

Author
Heather Zeiger
Date
February 3, 2022

Categorized
Censorship, Global Technology, Sports, Surveillance

Tagged
2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, burner phones, censorship, China, Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Citizen Lab, MY2022 App, Peng Shuai, Uyghurs}

Surveillance and Silence at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics

_{Why are countries instructing their Olympic athletes to use burner phones?} _{Heather Zeiger

February 3, 2022

8

Censorship, Global Technology, Sports, Surveillance}

In a previous article, I looked at the security issues with the MY2022 app, the official app for the 2022 Beijing Olympic Games, and the app that everyone who attends must download. The app has two key vulnerabilities that leave user data exposed when sending information over WiFi.* Aside from these vulnerabilities, the University of Toronto-based Citizen Lab found a list of censored keywords in the app’s code, as well as the capability to report someone who has sent politically contentious content over the messaging service. The keyword feature does not seem to be active, but as Jeffrey Knockel, author of the Citizen Lab report, told the New York Times, they could censor content with “the flip of a switch.” This is one Read More ›

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Author
Heather Zeiger
Date
January 28, 2022

Categorized
Global Technology, Sports

Tagged
2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, Beijing, China, Citizen Lab, COVID-19, MY2022 App, Peng Shuai, Uyghurs, Xi Jinping}

2022 Winter Olympics: Security Vulnerabilities in the MY2022 App

_{All Olympics attendees are required to download the MY2022 app to track their health and other personal data, despite security concerns} _{Heather Zeiger

January 28, 2022

7

Global Technology, Sports}

This February should be a time of celebration in China. The opening ceremonies of the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games is the day after the beginning of Lunar New Year. The Olympic Games commence two days later on February 4th. However, the Chinese government has put a damper on celebrations by continuing to pursue its “zero-Covid” strategy even though every other country has eased restrictions and begun transitioning from a “pandemic” to “endemic” mentality. People in Beijing along with surrounding regions have become exasperated over the daily testing protocols and harsh measures that are in place to ensure the Chinese Communist Party can save face over its prior claims of having defeated the virus. Among many of the issues plaguing the Read More ›

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Author
Heather Zeiger
Date
January 20, 2022

Categorized
Global Technology

Tagged
2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, Beijing, Chinese Communist Party (CCP), COVID-19, Omicron}

Xi’an Lockdown: Beijing Continues to Pursue “Zero-Covid”

_{With the Winter Olympics quickly approaching, China faces great internal stress for its strict COVID response} _{Heather Zeiger

January 20, 2022

8

Global Technology}

First, I hoped to escape lockdownLater, I hoped to get out to buy foodNow, I only hope I’m not hauled off a poem widely shared on Weibo about Xi’an; translated and reported by China Digital Times Rather than shifting gears, as much of the world has, Beijing continues to chase its zero-covid agenda. But the Chinese government’s heavy-handed measures to control the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and its messaging to the public to justify those measures, may have backfired. China is beholden to its “zero-Covid” strategy as the February 2nd opening ceremonies for the Beijing Winter Olympics nears and the Omicron variant spreads across the world. The Chinese Communist Party constructed a narrative early in the pandemic claiming that China Read More ›

China from space on realistic model of planet Earth with network. Concept of digital technology, connectivity and travel.

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Author
Heather Zeiger
Date
January 10, 2022

Categorized
Censorship, Global Technology, Social Media

Tagged
China, Chinese Communist Party, Denise Ho, Hannah Arendt, Jack Ma, Peng Shuai, Rui Zhong, The Origins of Totalitarianism (book), Zhuoran Li}

China’s Internet: The Biggest Influencer Is the State

_{How China uses social metrics to guide its censorship strategy} _{Heather Zeiger

January 10, 2022

7

Censorship, Global Technology, Social Media}

The Chinese Communist Party’s response to champion doubles tennis player Peng Shuai was about more than just dismissing an accusation and protecting a high-ranking Party member. It was about silencing influencers and suppressing social mobilization. In a previous article, we looked at how Beijing’s propaganda machine used fake Twitter accounts to amplify messaging around tennis champion Peng Shuai after she disappeared from the public and was censored on the Chinese internet. Wilson Center scholar Rui Zhong writes in Wired magazine, “This is not about topics. This censorship is fundamentally about the dismantling of social resources.” Rui Zhong’s article is helpful in contextualizing the Chinese Communist Party’s targets for online censorship. She says that most analyses of Chinese internet censorship focus on specific words, phrases, or topics, rather Read More ›

Tennis ball in net on flag China background.

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Author
Heather Zeiger
Date
December 23, 2021

Categorized
Censorship, Global Technology, Sports

Tagged
#WhereIsPengShuai, China, Peng Shuai, Steve Simon, Weibo}

Peng Shuai Backtracks Her Accusations

_{This comes as no surprise to anyone who knows how China's propaganda works} _{Heather Zeiger

December 23, 2021

9

Censorship, Global Technology, Sports}

On December 19, Peng Shuai was stopped by a journalist with Singaporean Chinese-language state-owned newspaper Lianhe Zaobao while she was in Shanghai for the International Ski Federation’s Cross-Country Skiing China City Tour. The Wall Street Journal reports that journalist Chen Qingqing, of the Chinese state media mouthpiece Global Times, posted a short video on Twitter of Peng with former NBA and CBA basketball player and current chairman of the China Basketball Association, Yao Ming hours before the Lianhe Zaobao interview was posted. In the interview Peng said that she never said or wrote about anyone sexually assaulting her. The Wall Street Journal reports: “There’s been a lot of misunderstanding,” Ms. Peng said in an interview, describing the situation as touching on “my personal privacy.” “There shouldn’t be any distorted interpretations,” she Read More ›

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Author
Heather Zeiger
Date
December 18, 2021

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Education

Tagged
AI 2041 (book), Chen Quifan, Kai-Fu Lee, Kazuo Ichiguro, Klara and the Sun, Techno-optimism}

What If Your Schooling Meant an AI Telling You What To Do?

_{Lee and Chen are techno-optimists. They recognize the benefits of innovative technologies while acknowledging its inherent limitations and societal costs} _{Heather Zeiger

December 18, 2021

9

Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Education}

Author, CEO of Sinovation Ventures, and former head of Google China, Kai-Fu Lee, shared with COSM 2021 his predictions for the future of AI. His presentation drew from his book AI 2041: Ten Visions for Our Future, co-authored with prominent science fiction writer Chen Quifan. AI 2041 offers seven short stories that explore the ethical and societal implications of machine-learning technologies on various industries, such as manufacturing, art, and education. The last three chapters address potential societal and geopolitical issues raised by artificial intelligence. Each short story includes an “analysis” section, authored by Lee, which delves into the issues raised by the story and its characters. Lee and Chen are techno-optimists. They recognize the benefits of innovative technologies while acknowledging Read More ›

Pre-adolescent teen girl texting on a smartphone lying in bed at home. Candid indoor photo withFocus on the foreground and copy space

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Author
Heather Zeiger
Date
December 7, 2021

Categorized
Social Media

Tagged
Facebook, Facebook Files, Frances Haugen, Instagram, Mark Zuckerberg, Meta, Wall Street Journal (on Facebook/Meta)}

Facebook’s…Er, Meta’s Instagram Problem

_{Despite employee-recommended solutions, Facebook has largely turned a blind eye to the harms their own algorithms have caused in teenage girls using Instagram} _{Heather Zeiger

December 7, 2021

10

Social Media}

The Wall Street Journal’s series of articles based on leaked internal documents from Facebook, Inc. (now Meta Platforms, Inc.) gave us a peek inside the company’s business model, including what the company knew about Instagram’s harmful mental health effects on teen girls.* Facebook employee, Frances Haugen, provided thousands of pages of internal documents and Slack conversations to the Wall Street Journal’s Jeff Horwitz, and has since made the documents available to other media outlets. Gizmodo is working with a group of experts to make the documents public, which can be viewed here. On October 5th, Haugen testified before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on Facebook’s lack of transparency regarding the harms of its platforms. The full testimony can be seen in the video below. Haugen Read More ›

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Author
Heather Zeiger
Date
December 1, 2021

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Censorship, Global Technology

Tagged
#WhereIsPengShuai, 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, China, China Open, Chinese Communist Party (CCP), International Olympic Committee (IOC), Peng Shuai, Steve Simon, Thomas Bach, Weibo, Women's Tennis Association (WTA), Zhang Gaoli}

#WhereIsPengShuai: China’s Star Tennis Player Went Missing

_{Peng re-appeared after two weeks, but her disappearance sparked a global outcry against human rights violations under the Chinese Communist Party} _{Heather Zeiger

December 1, 2021

9

Arts & Culture, Censorship, Global Technology}

On November 2, two-time tennis doubles champion, singles semifinalist, and three-time Olympian Peng Shuai posted on her Weibo account an essay accusing the former vice premier of China, Zhang Gaoli, of rape and coercion. They had an on-and-off relationship that began ten years ago and, reportedly, had a fight several days before her post. (A partial translation of her post can be found here.) In 2014 Peng was the number one tennis doubles champion, having won two Grand Slams, and has toured with the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA). She has also appeared in three Olympics for China. Zhang is a retired vice premier of the highest governing body in China, the Politburo Standing Committee, and unlike other government officials who have Read More ›

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Author
Heather Zeiger
Date
November 17, 2021

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Data Privacy, Education, Global Technology, Programming

Tagged
COSM 2021, Featured, Minority languages (and internet search), Natural Language Learning, Phil Parker}

Search Engines: Closing the Gap for Minority Languages

_{Thousands of the world’s languages are spoken by fewer than 100,000 people. At COSM 2021, Phil Parker outlined a plan for giving them access to information} _{Heather Zeiger

November 17, 2021

3

Artificial Intelligence, Data Privacy, Education, Global Technology, Programming}

We’ve all consulted “Dr. Google” for a health ailment or to find a recipe or learn how to fix something perhaps. Sometimes helpful, sometimes not. But what if you asked Google something — and it didn’t even recognize your language? Phil Parker, speaking at COSM 2021, told the story of a woman in Ethiopia searching for “lump in breast,” using one of the over 80 languages or dialects spoken in the region. Her language was one of thousands spoken by only a comparatively small population. The search engine did not recognize her input and returned no hits. She tried her query in Swahili, but there was nothing she found informative about “breast lumps” in Swahili. She finally tried her search Read More ›

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Author
Heather Zeiger
Date
November 17, 2021

Categorized
Business and Finance, Economics, Ethics, Technocracy

Tagged
China (U.S. companies' responses), China (U.S. trade with China), COSM 2021, Deng Xiaoping, Featured, George Gilder (on China), Jack Ma, Newt Gingrich (on China), Taiwan (status), Trump vs. China (book), Twiwan (Gilder's view), Xi JinPing (and Deng Xiaoping), Xi JinPing (Gingrich's view), XinJiang (Gilder's view), Xinjiang (internment)}

Gingrich at COSM: China Is the Greatest Threat to Global Freedom

_{Newt Gingrich fears America will lose to China. George Gilder argues that thinking that way is self-defeating and stupid} _{Heather Zeiger

November 17, 2021

8

Business and Finance, Economics, Ethics, Technocracy}

At COSM 2021, philosopher of technology George Gilder and political analyst Newt Gingrich sparred over U.S.–China relations. Gilder and Gingrich, a former U.S. Congressman, exemplify the two predominant views on China today. Former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and author Gingrich says the U.S. should decouple from China, while economist and author Gilder sees collaboration with China as our best — and only — option. Gingrich: Optimism about a more open China is waning In his opening remarks, Gingrich recalled that he was once an optimist that Chinese reformist leader Deng Xiaoping’s opening up strategy would usher in a more democratic China because Communism was incompatible with a free market economy. But, Gingrich, who has been a history Read More ›

Robots dancing in the park. Artificial intelligence industry in China.

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Author
Heather Zeiger
Date
November 12, 2021

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Global Technology, Medicine and Health, Surveillance

Tagged
__has-video, AI Superpowers (book), Autonomous vehicles (Kai-Fu Lee's view), China (AI dominance), Energy (Kai-Fu Lee's forecast), Featured, Healthcare and AI (Kai-Fu Lee's view), Kai-Fu Lee, Longevity (AI as aid), Natural Language Learning, Natural Language Processing (Kai-Fu Lee's view), Robotics (Kai-Fu Lee's forecast), video}

COSM 2021: Kai-Fu Lee Tries His Hand at Future Casting

_{The former president of Google China thinks that China is well equipped to lead the world in AI} _{Heather Zeiger

November 12, 2021

7

Artificial Intelligence, Global Technology, Medicine and Health, Surveillance}

At COSM 2021, Kai-Fu Lee — computer scientist, writer, venture capitalist and former head of Google China — provided a future cast of the five ways artificial intelligence will change the world. Lee’s predictions are compelling because he takes a tempered view of the capabilities of AI. Lee says some people misunderstand AI. It can’t replicate the human brain because it works differently from the brain. AI is good at using large amounts of data for numerical optimization and individualization, but very poor at extraction analysis, common sense, insight, and creativity. Lee told the gathering: … of course [AI] has no self-awareness, consciousness, or emotions or love. So, it is actually quite a good complement for human beings because we’re Read More ›

一个人漫步在故宫中，你能感觉到自己内心的宁静，倾听历史的声音。历史中的记忆，我们无法完全的复刻，但是建筑带给我们的震撼，却历久弥新。

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Author
Heather Zeiger
Date
October 29, 2021

Categorized
Global Technology

Tagged
"Fragile" (song), Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS), China, Chinese Communist Party (CCP), common prosperity, Kimberly Chen, Namewee, Xi Jinping}

China Brief: Xi Jinping Is a Techno-Utopian

_{Is his optimism in fix-all technological solutions actually a weakness?} _{Heather Zeiger

October 29, 2021

5

Global Technology}

I attended a webinar hosted by the Center for Strategic & International Studies on Xi Jinping’s New Policy Framework. Jude Blanchette and Andrew Polk of CSIS Freeman Chair in China Studies laid out their take on Xi Jinping’s governance model, the goal of which is to make China into a “great socialist nation” by 2035. This is a change from the Deng Xiaoping goal of making China into a “moderately prosperous society” and includes his common prosperity initiative. For those interested in some of the ins-and-outs of macro-economic policy, you can read the CSIS report, “Chinese State Capitalism: Diagnosis and Prognosis” here. Two key takeaways from the webinar are 1) Xi Jinping’s model is not a rehash of Mao or Lenin, although both Read More ›

Planet Earth from Space, People's Republic of China warm glow highlighted state borders and counties animation, city lights, 3d illustration

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Author
Heather Zeiger
Date
October 20, 2021

Categorized
Business and Finance, Censorship, Global Technology

Tagged
Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian, censorship, China, Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), LinkedIn}

LinkedIn Says Goodbye to China

_{If the blasé business world of LinkedIn cannot pass the Cyberspace Administration of China’s rules, then what platform can?} _{Heather Zeiger

October 20, 2021

6

Business and Finance, Censorship, Global Technology}

LinkedIn announced that it will no longer host social media and content sharing in China. Instead, it’s China-only app will be a job-board site. This comes after LinkedIn received criticism for blocking certain researcher profiles in China as well as human rights advocates and journalists who write on China. LinkedIn, which was bought by Microsoft in 2016, was one of the only U.S.-based social media outlets still operating within China. Twitter, Facebook (including Instagram, WhatsApp), and YouTube (owned by Alphabet, Inc.) are banned. Google (also owned by Alphabet, Inc.) left in 2010. Signal and Clubhouse were banned in 2021. Other apps, such as TikTok (owned by ByteDance, Inc.) have their own Chinese version that complies with censors and data regulators. Read More ›

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Author
Heather Zeiger
Date
October 12, 2021

Categorized
Business and Finance, Global Technology

Tagged
China, Chinese Communist Party (CCP), common prosperity, Jack Ma, Kai Strittmatter, Lingling Wei, Marxism, Massimo Introvigne, New Economic Policy, Soviet Union, We Have Been Harmonized (book), Xi Jinping}

Xi Jinping’s Ruthless March Toward “Common Prosperity”

_{Part II: The roots of Xi Jinping's "common prosperity" vision and why he's making changes to China's technology sector now} _{Heather Zeiger

October 12, 2021

6

Business and Finance, Global Technology}

In my previous article we looked at the sweeping crackdown of China’s technology sector, beginning with Jack Ma and Ant Financial, and how this is part of Xi Jinping’s goal of “common prosperity.” While corruption and debt excesses needed to be reined in and people wanted better data privacy protections, Xi’s common prosperity initiative is also about concentrating power, redistributing wealth, and controlling the unpredictable market. In this article we’ll look at the roots of common prosperity and why analysts believe Xi is making these changes now. Appealing to the Working Class In his speech celebrating the hundredth anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party in China, Xi said that the Party will make “notable and substantive progress toward achieving well-rounded human Read More ›

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Author
Heather Zeiger
Date
October 8, 2021

Categorized
Business and Finance, Global Technology

Tagged
Alibaba, Ant Group, antitrust, Baidu, ByteDance, China, Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Didi Global Inc., Evergrande Corp., Jack Ma, Meituan, Tencent, Xi Jinping}

Will China’s Huge Tech Sector Crackdown Stifle Innovation?

_{Part I: How will the Common Prosperity program really play out in the private sector?} _{Heather Zeiger

October 8, 2021

5

Business and Finance, Global Technology}

Didi Chuxing (Didi Global, Inc.), the largest ride-hailing company in the world, was reprimanded when it opened on the New York Stock Exchange after regulators warned it needed to shore up its data security issues. Meituan, China’s massive shopping and coupon app, was recently fined $533 million for “anticompetitive behavior.” Alibaba, owned by tech billionaire Jack Ma, had to pay a $2.8 billion fine for the same reasons. Antitrust regulators dinged Tencent, Baidu (China’s Google alternative), ByteDance (parent company for TikTok), and ecommerce company JD.com Inc. The billion-dollar online private tutoring industry sank after the Chinese government declared that after-school tutoring is now non-profit only. Then the online gaming industry was hit when the Chinese government declared children are only allowed to play for a few Read More ›

Holograms of masks, Hackers hiding behind digital anonymous masks, fake accounts. Concept for internet crime, fraud, cyber attack, spam, electronic theft. 3D illustration, 3D render

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post

Author
Heather Zeiger
Date
September 20, 2021

Categorized
Social Media

Tagged
Bob Fu, ChinaAid, Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Chinese Communist Party (social media campaigns), COVID-19 (origin disputes), Featured, FireEye Threat Research Blog, Fort Detrick, Google Threat Analysis, Guo Wengui, Hong Kong democracy movement, Li-Meng Yan, Shane Huntly, Steve Bannon}

China Manipulates Social Media to Spark Protests in the U.S.

_{Cybersecurity firm FireEye and Google Threat Analysis have fingered a campaign against the Hong Kong democracy movement, as well as claims that COVID started in the U.S.} _{Heather Zeiger

September 20, 2021

7

Social Media}

Both a September report by cybersecurity firm FireEye and a threat assessment post by Google highlight the scope of China’s current global propaganda campaign. According to FireEye’s Threat Research Blog, thousands of “inauthentic accounts” — across dozens of social media platforms and websites around the world — amplify the Chinese government’s messaging. While several non-government organizations, cybersecurity firms, and media outlets have reported on the way China’s Twitter network manipulates social medial platforms, FireEye and Alphabet say the breadth and scope of the propaganda campaign is much greater than previously thought: Most reporting has highlighted English and Chinese-language activity occurring on the social media giants Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. However, we have now observed this pro-PRC activity taking place on Read More ›