China’s diplomats and state media outlets are using social media platforms to manipulate public opinion and spread false information to divert international condemnation of human rights abuses in Xinjiang, a new report found.
A report released on July 20 by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) found that since early 2020, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s diplomats and state media have been “using increasingly sophisticated online tactics” to deny the human rights abuses it has committed in Xinjiang, the home of the Muslim Uyghur minority.
The report, titled “Assessing the impact of CCP information operations related to Xinjiang,” analyzed more than 613,000 Facebook posts and 6.78 million Twitter tweets and retweets mentioning “Xinjiang” between Jan. 1, 2020 and Jan. 1, 2022….