How right-wing disinformation in the Chinese American community reflect the politics of hate in the 2024 election
Chinese for Affirmative Action (CAA) releases a report today, “Conspiracy Theories, Lies, & A.I.: How right-wing disinformation in the Chinese American community reflect the politics of hate in the 2024 election.”
Here at Chinese for Affirmative Action (CAA), we’ve monitored Chinese-language disinformation through our Chinese Digital Engagement program, which we started in 2019. Through PiYaoBa, our Chinese-language fact-checking website, we’ve identified more than 600 pieces of disinformation in the past year, from June 10, 2023 to July 29, 2024, which have collectively amassed 11.6 million views. Out of these, 228 pieces of disinformation with total views of 4.05 million across Chinese-language social media platforms such as WeChat, X, YouTube were directly about the 2024 election.
The press release is available in both English and Chinese.
In 2024, election disinformation increased every month, and surged dramatically in July, which saw multiple breaking news stories in politics.
For the first time since we began tracking Chinese-language disinformation, it is spreading mostly via Twitter/X.
Key Findings
- Twitter Leads in Spreading Disinformation – WeChat is losing ground as a platform for Chinese-language disinformation. For the first time since we began tracking it, Chinese-language disinformation is spreading mostly via Twitter, far surpassing WeChat, since Elon Musk took over and rebranded it as X. PiYaoBa found that 48% of Chinese-language disinformation is spreading via Twitter versus 25% for WeChat. Still, WeChat and Telegram remain popular channels for circulating election disinformation.
- The Deification of Trump Cements his Outsized Influence – Trump continues to be a major influence with right-wing Chinese American content creators. Following the assassination attempt on Trump, they’ve treated him like a god-like figure, cementing their belief that only he can save America from communism — a disinformation narrative unique to the Chinese-language space.
- Chinese-Language and Cultural Trauma is Being Exploited – Although much of the Chinese-language disinformation translates directly from English-language disinformation, right-wing Chinese American social media influencers translate and amplify disinformation in a way that exploits Chinese-language and cultural trauma.
- A.I. Generated Disinformation Acts as an Excelerator – Artificial Intelligence technology is exacerbating the situation. This is the first time we have seen in-language A.I.-generated disinformation playing a role in shaping elections with unprecedented power.
A.I.-powered disinformation challenges the integrity of elections in different languages with unprecedented speed.
About PiYaoBa
PiYaoBa is the first centralized fact-checking website dedicated to combating right-wing disinformation in the Chinese American community. The name “PiYaoBa” translates to “let’s fact-check it” in Mandarin Chinese. It was launched in early 2022, providing Chinese Americans with in-language resources and tools to counter disinformation, including real-time alerts, reports, and comprehensive fact-checking articles. PiYaoBa conducts systematic research and documentation of misinformation and disinformation, while also welcoming topic suggestions from readers.
As part of CAA’s pioneering Chinese Digital Engagement program, PiYaoBa contributes to the provision of accurate information to the Chinese American community on social justice. This program, initiated in 2019, encompasses two WeChat channels and the websites JusticePatch.org and PiYaoBa.org. Since its establishment, JusticePatch has published 887 articles, PiYaoBa has published a total of 232 in-depth fact-checking articles and 234 disinformation alerts by July 25, 2024.
