Source : Deutsche Welle (DW)
TENSPORTSZONE – The wave of pro-Russian campaigns in digital China has been detected by Doublethink Lab, a digital investigative agency from Taiwan,
in a report released recently. They concluded that the close state media relations between the two countries facilitated the dissemination of propaganda material on Chinese social media.
Jerry Yu, an analyst at Doublethink Lab, claims that since the invasion began on February 24, state media and social media influencer Weibo have been diligent in spreading pro-Russian narratives, such as conspiracy theories linking Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky with pro-Russian protests. democracy in Hong Kong in 2019.
“Media such as the Global Times or CGTN adopted the narrative of NATO expansion as the reason for the invasion, and then focused on the claim of denazification of Ukraine, citing speeches or statements by Russian officials,” Yu wrote in the report.
Some analysts believe Russian propaganda favors the position of the Chinese Communist Party. “Obviously,
a number of high-ranking party officials decided that supporting the Russian narrative of what was happening in Ukraine was strategically advantageous,” said Sarah Cook, China director at Freedom House, a US think tank.
Meanwhile, Maria Repnikoba, a researcher at Georgia State University, strongly believes that pro-Russian propaganda makes it easier for Beijing to develop an antipathy attitude towards the West, which further strengthens its position at home.
“I have had enough of the pro-Russian rhetoric made up to sow doubts about the legitimacy of the US, western countries and NATO,” he said.
Flood of propaganda on social media
Doublethink Lab research shows that Chinese netizens previously had little knowledge of the discourse surrounding “Ukrainian Nazis”, and that these themes did not garner much media attention in China. In the days leading up to the invasion, Chinese authorities issued an official order to the media to cite only official sources, namely the Xinhua news agency, the People’s Daily newspaper or CCTV television station, which in 2015 entered into a cooperation agreement with Russian state media.
Shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, Chinese media accounts and foreign ministry began to actively spread false news about President Zelenskyy’s escape from the capital Kyiv, or about the capitulation of the Ukrainian military.
Other content adopts the Kremlin’s narrative about Nazi rule in Ukraine. On the third day of the invasion, it was the turn of influencer accounts on Weibo that spread false claims about how the US financed the Azov Brigades in Ukraine and diverted some of the funds to finance demonstrations against China’s National Security Law in Hong Kong, 2019.
How effective is Chinese propaganda?
The report from Taiwan also warns of the impact of Russian propaganda on the “Chinese diaspora abroad.” According to him, “Chinese discourse continues to spread Russian political propaganda via Weibo, Douyin, YouTube and other platforms, and creates a negative image of Ukraine among Chinese netizens.”
Professor Repnikova believes “voices seeking to challenge the narrative were quickly silenced,” she said.
“The loudest voices tend to be nationalistic and anti-Western, which aligns with the pro-Russian narrative,” he added.
Meanwhile, Sarah Cook of Freedom House, said the practice of silencing opposing voices played a big role in the success of propaganda in the media and the internet.
“If voices inside China, including those of a number of well-known intellectuals, or content liked by Chinese citizens in Ukraine, are not restricted, then the propaganda will be less effective,” he told DW.
Despite China’s claimed neutrality in the Russian invasion, the government-run social media campaign is biasing a completely different position.
