
Twitter is blocked in China, but its state news agency is buying promoted tweets - noarchy
https://techcrunch.com/2019/08/19/twitter-is-blocked-in-china-but-its-state-news-agency-is-buying-promoted-tweets-to-portray-hong-kong-protestors-as-violent/
======
rococode
Twitter just posted this statement:
[https://blog.twitter.com/en_us/topics/company/2019/informati...](https://blog.twitter.com/en_us/topics/company/2019/information_operations_directed_at_Hong_Kong.html)

And a new policy banning all state-controlled media from advertising:
[https://blog.twitter.com/en_us/topics/company/2019/advertisi...](https://blog.twitter.com/en_us/topics/company/2019/advertising_policies_on_state_media.html)

I think this is an interesting example of recent discussions about the
disproportionate influence of social media companies on information.
Obviously, it doesn't seem right for a government to manipulate public
conversation. But it's also worrisome that a single company has the power to
shut down an entire government trying to spread its ideas. In this instance
it's well justified, but it feels a little scary that the flow of information
is policed by a couple private individuals with very little oversight. I don't
have any particular opinions here on what might need to change, if anything -
just thinking out loud.

~~~
dantheman
How is this any different than the New York Times or the Nightly News? They
control to a large extent the news people see.

~~~
tnolet
These are journalistic organizations. Not tech companies selling ads. Sure,
newspapers sell a ton of ads, but they tend to balance the news and the
commercial sides way better and more delicate than your average SV tech corps.

~~~
huac
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manufacturing_Consent](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manufacturing_Consent)

------
ChuckMcM
One could ask, "What would China do to WeChat if they showed sponsored content
from the US promoting democratic reforms in HK?"

------
29_29
I was recently in Beijing and noticed when posting on Instagram many bot
accounts posting "Shame on Hong Kong" in Chinese.

This is a Facebook problem too.

------
hugh4life
"China appears to be making rapid advances in the development of Ben Garrison
technology"

[https://twitter.com/hikikomorphism/status/116247064336062054...](https://twitter.com/hikikomorphism/status/1162470643360620544)

------
ploxiln
I think people worry too much about these "misinformation campaigns". I think
the idea behind this worry is "most people would not disagree with me unless
they were brainwashed - we can't let people I disagree with do that".

I'm more on the free speech side, of course. I'm definitely not a fan of the
Chinese government. I like free speech, after all! But I don't really think
these promoted misleading tweets are swaying the opinion of most north-
americans or europeans. And I don't like this new world order where your
message must align with modern liberal western ideas, in order for you to
express it on a popular medium. This trend is honestly a bit scary. We're
getting into orthodoxy here.

Don't freak out that some people are broadcasting a message you don't agree
with on a popular medium, and maybe some other people out there will be
influenced by it. Growing up as a geek/nerd, I got accustomed to nobody I was
around really understanding and agreeing with me. It's not the end of the
world. But orthodoxy is a bit scary.

~~~
rhizome
There is so much fallacious thinking here it would make me look like a
pedantic doof to list them all. Suffice it to suggest that you consider
accounting for the fact that there are real things actually happening outside
of your mind.

------
seppin
Between this, and mainland Chinese protesting while living/studying abroad
whereas they wouldn't have the right to do so at home, the irony is palpable.

~~~
mattfrommars
You are onto something which had been bothering me yesterday.

I have a Chinese room mate who yesterday showed me images/videos 'anti-
protester'and exclaiming how he wanted to be part of. Note in the past and
still continues to be against the Chinese government and expresses disapproval
of them.

I found it very odd of him to side with the anti-protestors because 'I love
China and these protestors hate Chinese'. I told him, the people of Hong Kong
are protesting against the Chinese government and the government does not
represent the people. He further added, "people in China love the government".
"If people don't like the government, they can kick them out".

I told him I am pretty sure they can't because the regime is not communist but
instead totalitarian. Even a month ago, he told you can't speak anything
against the government even if you wanted to because of their "3 generation
threat".

So your comment must be part I missed in my mind, the Chinese national who
sympathize with the government here in the US shouldn't be protesting at all.
The government they support, it is against any type of protest and unrest. Can
it be said that pro-Chinese government individuals don't really have the right
no matter which type of environment they live in?

~~~
sverige
> I told him I am pretty sure they can't because the regime is not communist
> but instead totalitarian.

Honest question: which communist government isn't / wasn't totalitarian?

~~~
seppin
Burning man? /s

------
ausjke
many sites are blocked too, but the government agents can access them freely
all the time, ironic

~~~
theturtletalks
Also ironic is China's elite reaping the benefits of democracy while
oppressing their own people.

~~~
wtdata
Democracy? I think you mean Capitalism. The two things, although usually
existing together, are not the same thing.

------
Invictus0
Many celebrities have also come out against the protests, such as Jackie Chan.
I wonder if they were bought out or threatened by the government in order to
do that.

~~~
psychrometer
Jackie Chan has a history of defending the CCP and propagandizing for them.

"Taiwan election biggest joke in the world"
[http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2004-03/29/content_...](http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2004-03/29/content_318903.htm)
[https://archive.fo/QYKF](https://archive.fo/QYKF)

"He was named official Narcotics Control Ambassador by Chinese police in
2009." [https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-
china-32620313](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-32620313)
[https://archive.fo/hFrnF](https://archive.fo/hFrnF)

"we Chinese need to be controlled"
[https://web.archive.org/web/20090421223810/http://news.yahoo...](https://web.archive.org/web/20090421223810/http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090418/ap_en_ot/as_china_people_jackie_chan)
[https://archive.fo/pigfI](https://archive.fo/pigfI)

"Anger after movie star tells mainland newspaper his hometown has become ‘like
South Korea’ and that it should limit the right to protest"
[https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-
kong/article/1103899/jackie-c...](https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-
kong/article/1103899/jackie-chan-criticises-hong-kong-city-protest) [Note this
is about 2012 protests not 2019]

"Jackie Chan back in action, branding US more corrupt than China"
[https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-
kong/article/1125813/jackie-c...](https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-
kong/article/1125813/jackie-chan-back-action-branding-us-more-corrupt-china)

"Parents disliked the presence of Jackie Chan in the program"
[https://www.theepochtimes.com/chinese-netizens-criticize-
man...](https://www.theepochtimes.com/chinese-netizens-criticize-mandatory-
propaganda-program-for-children-and-parents-on-state-media_2640059.html)
[https://archive.fo/lKp1J](https://archive.fo/lKp1J)

"The 63-year-old Chan has aligned himself closely with the authoritarian views
of the Chinese Communist Party in recent decades and is now widely seen across
the Chinese-speaking world as a mouthpiece for the Beijing regime."
[https://www.theepochtimes.com/jackie-chan-pushes-to-
outlaw-s...](https://www.theepochtimes.com/jackie-chan-pushes-to-outlaw-
samurai-code-in-china_2464204.html)
[https://archive.fo/Ewked](https://archive.fo/Ewked)

"Jackie Chan’s multilingual film Kung Fu Yoga has courted controversy for
having an Indian character allegedly praise Chinese President Xi Jinping’s
Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)." [https://silverscreen.in/news/jackie-chans-
kung-fu-yoga-pro-c...](https://silverscreen.in/news/jackie-chans-kung-fu-yoga-
pro-china-propaganda-say-critics/)
[https://archive.fo/tVsQy](https://archive.fo/tVsQy)

~~~
the_resistence
Will never watch another of his movies again.

