East Asia

Mon, Jul 8, 2024

Spambots continue to suppress speech and enable harassment of the Chinese community on X

Networks of Chinese-language spambots risk the censoring of posts during politically sensitive events, repeating past oversights

Botnets China
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping attend a signing ceremony at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia March 21, 2023. (Source: Sputnik/Vladimir Astapkovich/Kremlin via Reuters)

Wed, Jun 12, 2024

In Sub-Saharan Africa, China embraces Russian messaging against Ukraine

Russian narratives thrive in Sub-Saharan Africa with the help of Chinese media networks, localization expertise, and infrastructure

by Digital Forensic Research Lab

Africa Cameroon
Taiwan, New Taipei City, 2024/01/13. Poll officers show a box containing ballots after polls close at a polling station at an elementary school. (Source: Valeria Mongelli/Hans Lucas via Reuters)

Mon, May 6, 2024

Targeting Taiwan: China’s influence efforts on the island

Chinese state media experimented on how to better reach Taiwanese audiences online around the January 2024 election

by Digital Forensic Research Lab

Advertising China
Smartphone with the app from TikTok on the flags of the USA and China. (Source: Reuters)

Wed, Feb 14, 2024

TikTok: Hate the Game, Not the Player

How Strategic and Regulatory Confusion Around TikTok Prevent an Effective National Security Response

by Rose Jackson, Seth Stodder, Kenton Thibaut

Americas China

Thu, Dec 21, 2023

DFRLab research highlights from 2023

From the war in Ukraine to the ongoing crisis in the Middle East, the DFRLab's international team of researchers investigated information operations and online harms around the world

by Andy Carvin, Layla Mashkoor

China Conflict
Screencaps of a viral Douyin video of animated panda flight attendants welcoming Ya Ya’s arrival with the song, “Ya Ya Come Home.”

Thu, Sep 14, 2023

Panda exchange program targeted by misinformation, driving anti-US narratives in China

Chinese media capitalized on emotionally resonant rumors about alleged panda abuse in the United States amid deteriorating US-China relations

by Digital Forensic Research Lab

Asia China
President of Brazil Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, President of China Xi Jinping, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov pose for a BRICS family photo during the 2023 BRICS Summit at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa, on August 23, 2023. (Source: Gianluigi Guercia/Pool via Reuters/File Photo)

Wed, Sep 6, 2023

Pro-Russian BRICS narratives in Latin America prospered during summit lead-up

In the six months ahead of the BRICS summit, narratives about a new multipolar world and the fall of US hegemony trended in Spanish-speaking Latin America information space

by Iria Puyosa

Argentina Brazil
A World Map Of China 3D Rendering - Chinese Discourse Power Cover graphic

Wed, Aug 2, 2023

Chinese discourse power: Capabilities and impact

An examination of China's online and offline channels for the dissemination of "discourse power" and the mechanisms of oversight on which such communications rely.

by Kenton Thibaut

Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a signing ceremony following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia March 21, 2023. Sputnik/Mikhail Tereshchenko/Pool via REUTERS

Mon, Jul 10, 2023

Chinese social media messaging downplays significance of Wagner mutiny

Beijing promoted the view that Yevgeny Prigozhin’s mutiny was a one-off event and emphasized Russia’s “return to normal,” lending further legitimacy to its support for Russia and their deepening partnership

by Kenton Thibaut

China Propaganda
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speaks during the presentation of the European Commission's data/digital strategy in Brussels, Belgium February 19, 2020. (Source: REUTERS/Yves Herman)

Mon, May 22, 2023

The complexity of Europe’s digital sovereignty agenda explained

Analyzing European digital sovereignty through a unified lens risks overlooking the nuanced approach of member states

by Konstantinos Komaitis

China China
Twitter CEO Elon Musk. (Source: Reuters/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo)

Fri, Apr 21, 2023

State-controlled media experience sudden Twitter gains after unannounced platform policy change

Twitter accounts run by Russia’s RT, China’s CGTN and Iran’s PressTV suddenly began to gain followers; Twitter acknowledged a change in policy regarding state media accounts three weeks later

by Alyssa Kann

Business China

Thu, Mar 30, 2023

Anti-Taiwan influence operation shows shift in tactics

Inauthentic assets amplified content to more than 1,300 Facebook groups, with the apparent goal of dividing Taiwanese society and undermining its democracy

by Feng-Kai Lin

China CrowdTangle