Did China use social media platforms to trick the world into harsh lockdowns? New study says answer is yes
Strict coronavirus lockdowns which have crippled the world’s economy were encouraged by a sophisticated Chinese propaganda effort that used Twitter and Facebook to spread fear and panic about COVID-19 and admiration for Beijing’s authoritarian approach, a new study claims.
Opinion
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Strict coronavirus lockdowns which have crippled the world’s economy were encouraged by a sophisticated Chinese propaganda effort that used Twitter and Facebook to spread fear and panic about COVID-19 and admiration for Beijing’s authoritarian approach.
That’s the conclusion of a damning forensic report by American lawyer Michael Senger, who analysed Chinese propaganda and social media behaviour since the start of the pandemic.
Released Thursday by the online journal Tablet, Senger’s investigation found that the world’s initial panicked reaction to news of a strange virus coming out of Wuhan was largely driven by viral videos that claimed to show both the danger of the disease and the effectiveness of China’s response, which was to put millions of people under previously-unimagined lockdown conditions.
Writes Senger, “One video purportedly showed a SWAT team catching a man with a butterfly net for removing his mask. But in hindsight, this crisis theatre is somewhat comical; in the infamous video, the ‘spontaneously collapsing’ man extends his arms to catch himself.”
Armed with such images – which included staged footage of people suddenly falling over in the streets as well as now-debunked images of hospitals being put up seemingly overnight – the Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda army was able to go to work on Twitter, driving a pro-lockdown narrative, whipping up fear, and condemning governments that took a lighter touch approach.
China also used Facebook ads, running without the required political disclaimer, to talk up Beijing’s response while blaming Donald Trump for the US’s failures to manage the disease.
At the same time, the World Health Organisation, which had never endorsed lockdowns prior to COVID-19 and whose Director has been criticised for his close ties to China, praised Beijing’s “uncompromising and rigorous use of non-pharmaceutical measures” to control the coronavirus.
According to Senger’s investigation, Twitter users in the UK were swarmed by huge numbers of fake accounts accusing Boris Johnson of committing “genocide” for his early “herd immunity” approach. State governors in the US who refused to implement strict lockdowns received similar treatment.
Italy, the first EU country to sign up to China’s contentious Belt and Road Initiative, undertook a strict Chinese-style lockdown but still suffered a massive outbreak in its north.
Senger tells The Daily Telegraph that there are parallels between Italy and Victoria, where Dan Andrews has not only signed up to Belt and Road but has also employed at least one staffer with links to the Chinese Communist Party’s United Front Work Department.
Melbourne remains under a lockdown that is now longer than Wuhan’s.
Senger also notes that Sweden, which was heavily criticised for undertaking little more than basic social distancing, was less susceptible to Chinese propaganda due to an ongoing diplomatic spat with Beijing.
Today, Sweden is barely touched by COVID-19 while the rest of Europe is experiencing a second wave.
The report is likely to increase pressure on social media giants such as Twitter, which is accused of having a double standard when it comes to dealing with fake news and Chinese propaganda.
In May, Twitter refused a request by the US State Department to shut down some 250,000 accounts believed to be part of a network used to amplify Chinese Communist Party talking points.
Yet this week Twitter reportedly suspended the account of Dr Li-Meng Yan, a Chinese academic who suggested that COVID-19 was engineered in a lab and deliberately let loose on the world.
Senger tells The Daily Telegraph that China’s goal was three-fold: Weakening global economies while distracting the world from Beijing’s expansionist activities, spreading totalitarian values in nations whose leaders profess respect for human rights, and using their “success” at fighting COVID-19 to “give his oppressed people a victory”.
“It’s very disturbing how gullible and dismissive of human rights many leaders have proven to be”, Senger says.
The Daily Telegraph approached Facebook and Twitter for comment.