Happy Nice Mall

WASHINGTON (AP) – To her 1.4 million followers on social media, Vica Li says she’s a “life blogger” and “food lover” who wants to teach her fans something. Chinese So they can easily travel the country.

“I’ll take you around with my lens Chinese, take you into Vica’s life!” He says in a January video posted on YouTube and Facebook.

But that lens may be controlled by the Chinese state-run TV network CGTN, where he regularly appears on broadcasts and is listed as a digital reporter on the company’s website. Vica Li tells her followers that she “created all these channels herself”, while her Facebook account indicates that at least nine people manage her page.

This portfolio of accounts ChineseA review by the Associated Press found its growing influence on US-owned social media platforms.

Aspect Chinese As it continues to demonstrate its economic strength, it uses the global social media ecosystem to expand its already formidable influence. The country has set up a network of social media personalities who parrot the government’s point of view in their posts and operate on virtual key steps while promoting. Chinesedeflect criticism of human rights abuses and advance Beijing’s conversations on world issues, such as Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Some Chinese‘s government-affiliated reporters have positioned themselves as trendy Instagram influencers or bloggers. The country has also hired firms to recruit influencers to deliver carefully crafted messages that boost its image to social media users.

And it draws on a Western staff whose YouTube channels and Twitter feeds are dedicated to resounding productions.Chinese Narratives about everything from Beijing’s treatment of Uighur Muslims to Olympian Eileen Gu, an American vying for it. Chinese in the latest Winter Games.

The influencer network allows Beijing to propagate to social media users around the world. At least 200 influencers with links Chinese Government or state media operate in 38 different languages, according to research by Miburo, a firm that monitors foreign disinformation operations.

“You can see how they tried to infiltrate each of these countries,” said Miburo Director Clint Watts, a former FBI agent. “If you bombard an audience with the same narratives long enough, people will tend to believe them over time.”

Russia’s war with Ukraine is just one example.

While the invasion was denounced as an arrogant attack on democracy, Li Jingjing presented a different narrative to his 21,000 YouTube subscribers, posting videos that mirror Russian propaganda and support misleading claims such as the US and NATO inciting the invasion of Russia.

On YouTube, Li Jingjing says he is a “traveler”, “storyteller” and journalist. But she doesn’t reveal that she’s a CGTN reporter in her own episodes, voicing not only her own but also familiar opinions. Chinese Government talking points. Neither Vica Li nor Li Jingjing responded to AP’s questions.

The AP has identified dozens of similar accounts that collectively have more than 10 million followers and subscribers. The profiles are often owned by Chinese state media reporters who have converted their Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube accounts – the platforms have been largely blocked. Chinese – and “bloggers” came to be defined as “influencers” or the undefined “journalists”.

“They’ve made it clear that ‘Chinese female influencer’ is the way to go,” Watts said. Chinese.

Foreign governments have long sought to use social media to secretly influence users, including in the 2016 US elections.

In response, tech companies like Facebook and Twitter have pledged to better warn American users against foreign propaganda by tagging government-sponsored media accounts.

But the AP review found that many of the social media accounts of Chinese influencers are inconsistently labeled as state-funded media. Accounts such as those of Li Jingjing and Vica Li are usually tagged on Facebook or Instagram, but not on YouTube or TikTok. Vica Li’s account is not tagged on Twitter. Last month, Twitter began identifying Li Jingjing’s account as Chinese state media.

CGTN did not respond to requests for interviews. CGTN America, which is registered as a foreign agent with the Ministry of Justice and announced that it has commercial agreements with international news organizations such as AP, CNN and Reuters, did not respond to messages. An attorney representing CGTN America also did not respond.

Liu Pengyu, spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, said, “The Chinese media and journalists are conducting their normal activities independently and should not be assumed to be directed or interfered with by the Chinese Embassy in China. Chinese Government”

ChineseThe interest in social media influencers took off in December when filings with the Justice Department revealed that the Chinese Consulate in New York City paid New Jersey firm Vippi Media $300,000 to recruit influencers to message Instagram and TikTok followers during the Beijing Olympics. appeared. Vipp Jaswal, CEO of Vippi Media, declined to share details about the posts with the AP.

English-speaking influencers have also made a place for themselves by promoting pro-Chinese messaging on YouTube and Twitter.

Last April, CGTN recruited English speakers from around the world in London, Nairobi, Kenya or Washington.

British video blogger Jason Lightfoot praised the opportunity with a YouTube video, driving 200,000 subscribers with titles such as “The Olympics Backfire in the US — Disastrous Regret” and “Lies About Western Media.” Chinese”

Video topics are aligned with those of other professionals.Chinese Bloggers like Cyrus Janssen, who is a US citizen in Canada. During the Olympics, Janssen and Lightfoot shared the same footage in posts celebrating Gu’s win of three medals on the same day and blasting the United States.

Janssen said he never accepted money from the AP. Chinese Government. But when pressed for details about some of his partnerships with Chinese tech firms, Janssen only answered questions about an AP reporter’s salary.

American YouTuber Matthew Tye and South African Winston Sterzel, in most cases, Chinese paying for content.

They were included in an email presentation sent to multiple YouTube influencers last year from a company that describes itself as Hong Kong Pear Technology. The email asked them to share a promotional video. Chinesein the canals of the touristic province of Hainan. In another email, Pear Technology took a step forward for them to release a propaganda video claiming that COVID-19 is caused by North American white-tailed deer. Chinese.

Sterzel and Tye heard nothing more after asking the company to provide evidence to support this claim.

“There is a very easy formula for being successful,” Sterzel said in an interview. “Just to praise Chinese Governmentpraise Chinese and tell me how awesome you are Chinese How bad the West is and how bad it is.”

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Catalini reported from Trenton, New Jersey.