CAA Releases Report on Election 2024 Disinformation Spreading Across Chinese-Language Platforms
San Francisco: 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.” This report examines disinformation across Chinese-language social media platforms such as WeChat, Twitter/X, YouTube, and Telegram during the 2024 election cycle.
For the first time since CAA began tracking it, Chinese-language disinformation is spreading more via Twitter/X (48%) as compared to WeChat (25%). Prior to this, WeChat was the primary vehicle in which disinformation was shared across Chinese-language digital spaces.
“Although a lot of the disinformation is from the English media, right-wing Chinese social media influencers are very good at twisting and amplifying them in a way that exploits the historical and cultural trauma of Chinese immigrants,” says Jinxia Niu, Program Manager, Chinese Digital Engagement.
“After Vice President Kamala Harris became the presumptive nominee for the Democratic Party, disinformation narratives framed her candidacy with sexist and misogynistic remarks as well as false claims in hopes of undermining her campaign,” says Kennis Chen, Advocate, Chinese Digital Engagement. “The disinformation we’ve tracked aims to undermine confidence in the voting process and the election’s outcome.”
Through our Chinese Digital Engagement program, which includes PiYaoBa, our Chinese-language fact-checking site, CAA documented 628 major pieces of disinformation over the past year, from June 2023 to July 2024, which amassed 11.6 million views. Of these, 228 pieces of disinformation with total views of 4.05 million were directly about the 2024 election and explicitly told viewers who to vote for.
Below are some key findings from the report:
- 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.
- 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.
- A.I. Generated Disinformation Acts as an Accelerator – 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.
“The role of social media and the emergence of artificial intelligence in shaping public opinion and spreading disinformation is more significant than ever,” says June Zhan, Advocate, Chinese Digital Engagement. “Disinformation is a symptom of deeper issues in our society, and different sectors must work together to address the problem.”
Our report also gives recommendations to governments, tech companies, funders, and others on how to help slow down the rapid dissemination of false information.
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Chinese for Affirmative Action (CAA) was founded in 1969 to protect the civil and political rights of Chinese Americans and to advance multiracial democracy in the United States. Today, CAA is a progressive voice in and on behalf of the broader Asian American and Pacific Islander community. We advocate for systemic change that protects immigrant rights, promotes language diversity, and remedies racial and social injustice. You can learn more about us at caasf.org.
Chinese Translation
媒體聯系：
淩倩恩， 資訊主任，syling@caasf.org（英文、粵語）
金霞，中文數字互動項目經理，jniu@caasf.org (普通話、英文)
Twitter和人工智能的出現主導了中文虛假信息的傳播
華促會發布2024年大選中文平台虛假信息傳播報告
舊金山：華人權益促進會(CAA)今日發布報告《陰謀論、謊言與人工智能：華裔社區右翼虛假信息如何反映2024年大選中的仇恨政治》。該報告研究了在2024年大選週期間微信、Twitter/X、YouTube和Telegram等中文社交媒體平台上的虛假信息。
自華促會開始追蹤以來，中文虛假信息通過Twitter/X(48%)傳播的比例首次超過了微信(25%)。此前，微信是中文數字空間分享虛假信息的主要途徑。
中文數字互動項目經理金霞(Jinxia Niu)表示：「儘管許多虛假信息來自英文媒體，但中文社媒的右翼意見領袖、博主非常善於利用華人移民的歷史和文化創傷來扭曲和放大這些虛假信息。」
中文數字互動倡導Kennis Chen說：「在副總統賀錦麗(Kamala Harris)成為民主黨的推定提名人後，虛假信息通過用性別歧視和厭女言論，以及不實說法來誣蔑她的候選資格，並希望用這類言論來破壞她的競選活動。我們追蹤到的虛假信息旨在破壞民眾對投票過程和選舉結果的信心。」
通過包括中文事實核查網站「闢謠吧」(PiYaoBa) 在內的中文數字互動項目，華促會在過去一年（2023年6月至2024年7月）中記錄了628條主要虛假信息，瀏覽量達1160萬次。其中，228條虛假信息直接涉及2024年大選，並明確告訴瀏覽者該投票給誰，總瀏覽量達405萬次。
以下報告的一些主要發現：
- Twitter/X在傳播虛假信息方面領先 – 微信作為中文虛假信息平台的地位正在下降。自埃隆·马斯克(Elon Musk)接管Twitter並將其改名為「X」以來，中文虛假信息主要通過推特傳播，遠遠超過微信，這在我們開始追蹤以來是首次。
- 對川普的神化鞏固了他的巨大影響力 – 川普持續對右翼華裔內容創作者產生重大影響。在暗殺未遂發生後，右翼博主將川普奉若神明，堅定了只有川普才能將美國從共產主義中拯救出來的信念 —— 這是中文領域獨有的虛假信息敘事。
- 人工智能生成的虛假信息推波助瀾 – 人工智能技術讓情況惡化，這是我們首次看到人工智能生成的虛假信息以前所未有的力量在選舉中發揮作用。
中文數字互動倡導詹涓(June Zhan)說：「社交媒體和人工智能的出現、在塑造輿論和傳播虛假信息方面的作用比以往任何時候都更加重要。虛假信息是我們社會中更深層次問題的表徵，整个社会的利益相关者必須共同努力解決這一問題。」
我們的報告還就如何幫助減緩虛假信息的快速傳播，向政府、科技公司、捐助者和其他方面做出了建議。
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華人權益促進會(CAA)成立於1969年，旨在保護美國華裔的公民和政治權利，推動美國的多種族民主。今天，華促會在更廣泛的亞裔美國人和太平洋島民社區中代表進步的聲音。我們倡導系統性的變革，保護移民權利，促進語言多樣性，並糾正種族和社會不公。你可以在caasf.org了解更多關於我們的資訊。
