According to the researchers, the people posting are usually people who have built up a large following in right-wing circles by selling conspiracy theories. They can include users ranging from immigrants who moved to the United States because of their opposition to the Chinese Communist Party, but who lean far right, to Chinese Christian conservatives. Many are self-proclaimed commentators, and some have hundreds of thousands of followers on platforms like X and YouTube.
The researchers confirmed that the users spreading the misinformation are real people, not bots, as they share other content, including lifestyle posts and vlogs. Many of these influencers have live streams where they interact with their fans or others in the same political space.
“Biden resigns, Kamala Harris takes office without proper justification or legitimacy,” reads one popular post. “The true nature of the Democratic Party as a dictatorial party is now unmistakably exposed.”
Asian Americans make up 6% of all voters. But in some swing states like Nevada, where they make up 11% of the population, they could make up the margin of victory.
“This 2024 election is a very, very close election. … We know how high the stakes are,” said Jinxia Niu, program manager of CAA’s China digital engagement initiative.
For the report, researchers examined disinformation in Chinese between June 10, 2023 and July 29, 2024. Among the hundreds of posts reporting false or fake news, they found 228 major misinformation about the election that was widespread. over 4 million views in total.
The researchers defined “mainstream” disinformation as a post that received at least 2,500 views on one platform before being shared on other apps.
Misinformation about election rigging
The most common narrative in the report is that Trump is presented as a candidate who can “save” the country but is a victim of electoral fraud.
In a Chinese-language post that has garnered tens of thousands of views, Xa claims that “there is global chaos after Biden stole the election.”
Articles believing that the policies of Biden and his administration are bringing the United States closer to communism have also increased. The posts link the Democratic Party and its leaders to economic collapse, especially inflation, crime and other “failed” security policies.
Cultural trauma is fueled by misinformation about political leaders
The student protests were raised as an example of Democrats pushing a socialist and communist agenda, the researchers wrote. Some reports claim that elite left-wing organizations paid students to protest.
While these two narratives about Trump and Biden also appear in right-wing, English-language disinformation, the report notes that many posts on Chinese-language social media uniquely capitalize on Chinese immigrants’ cultural trauma and previous experiences in their home countries. Disagreement is prohibited. For example, this spring’s student protests in response to the Israel-Gaza conflict have been compared to China’s Cultural Revolution, a decades-long period of political and social upheaval that began in the 1960s and left an estimated 500,000 to 2 million people dead.
Although the report considered Trump to be the antidote to communism, Harris’ rise to the top of the Democratic party was predetermined and considered another example of the Democrats’ authoritarian plan.
The report said of Harris’ campaign: “This reinforces their false claim that the Democrats are a coup d’état. She also said she was the target of sexist and misogynistic terms, calling the stigma “乌鸡” or “black chicken”. In Chinese, “chicken” is a slang term for a sex worker.
Misinformation about immigration concerns
Another major, growing narrative is that the Biden administration is opening the border to flood the polls with undocumented immigrant voters who support Democrats. In addition, many posts spread the idea that undocumented immigrants are given every incentive to come to the US, all at the expense of those who arrive with visas. This is largely due to people’s own immigration trauma, anxiety and travel to the country, Niu said.
“The latest misinformation we’re fighting is the idea that undocumented immigrants can buy five-star hotels, get free medical care,” Niu said.
Gregg Orton — the national director of the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans, a nonprofit organization that heads the Asian American Disinformation Table, a coalition that researches disinformation and disinformation affecting Asian Americans — said he’s seen similar immigration stories and focuses on the economy. A trigger point for Chinese American voters. Different paths to the U.S. make the reality of immigration more difficult for many, he said.
“The ability to provide for the family is the main motivator. It’s easy to take advantage of the anxiety of being able to do that,” Orton said. “That’s where this scarcity mindset comes from.”
Conspiracy theories about widespread voter fraud and election rigging, such as the allegation that the assassination of Trump was a Secret Service-orchestrated ruse, have also taken hold.
The report said that about a quarter of misinformation is spread through WeChat. Experts said that while the platform has a feed containing public posts, misinformation is particularly widespread because of how users can create large, closed groups and post information without being vetted or held accountable. These groups are similar to Facebook groups, and there are hundreds of them. Some may be more private and only involve relatives and friends, while others are special interest groups. Chinese government censorship also makes it difficult to analyze accurate information.
Why might misinformation spread among Chinese-speaking users?
The report notes that a lot of information has been spread through X recently. This trend comes amid changes in the app’s content moderation policies, as well as the reinstatement of previously banned accounts. Other popular platforms for spreading disinformation include Telegram and YouTube.
Orton said many of these narratives have spread not only to the Chinese diaspora, but also to other Asian groups on social media for some time. And these communities are especially vulnerable because they are often unheard of in the United States
“It’s easy to understand why some people might gravitate toward these narratives when they feel they’re either being left behind or even targeted by the government or the country they try to call home,” Orton said.
“What does it mean to vote and engage in politics in the public conversation?” Niu said. “They’re still trying to get used to the new system.”
Orton said it’s now up to elected officials to reach out to communities that don’t feel connected. And the report says governments and tech companies should invest more in language fact-checking. The report notes that journalists must also ensure that immigrant communities have access to accurate news and information.
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