(TibetanReview.net, Feb22’24) – India’s security establishment has shortlisted more than a dozen Indian social media influencers and vloggers who allegedly peddle Chinese government narratives, including on Tibet and Xinjiang, with grave implications for the country’s national security, reported indiatoday.in Feb 20. The report does not name any influencer or vlogger but has given an indication of who they might include.
The report said a comprehensive list made by China watchers in South Block (which houses the Prime Minister’s Office, Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi), and based on intelligence inputs and regular monitoring of these influencers’ activities and social media posts, was now being shared with the Union government for action.
The security establishment was stated to be apprehensive that these influencers, allegedly motivated by financial gains, could pose a serious risk by contributing to a manipulative ecosystem run by Chinese state agencies. They were reported to have massive following—some in millions—among youngsters, so their posts mattered a lot in shaping public opinion, hence the urgency to address the threat.
Indian officials are reported to believe it is all part of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) strategy of using foreign social media influencers in adversarial countries like India to shape and disseminate ‘preferred’ narratives domestically and internationally. “And it is aimed at debunking media reporting and academic research and refuting statements by foreign governments,” the report said.
The Indian security establishment is stated to believe that the emerging Chinese propaganda using Indian social media influencers (including YouTubers) threatens to condition how certain segments of the Indian population perceive China and its policies.
The security establishment sources are stated to believe that while some vloggers genuinely aim to foster cross-cultural understanding, others play into the hands of the Chinese propaganda machinery. The stereotypes propagated often perpetuate a highly superficial and simplified view of Indian life and reinforce the preconceived notions that the Chinese public holds about Indians.
“Given their substantial following across multiple social media platforms, these influencers have the ability to shape narratives that could have implications for national security, particularly if they propagate misinformation or biased perspectives,” one South Block official has said, not wishing to be named.
The intricacy of the Chinese sponsorship arrangement is stated to lie in the fact that the suspect vloggers’ expenses are covered by China and they are also granted access to restricted areas like Xinjiang and Tibet.
And the content produced by the YouTubers primarily focuses on pro-China narratives, including refuting the genocide allegations in Uyghur (in Xinjiang), besides also projecting a positive view of Chinese governance in Xinjiang and Tibet. By showcasing these areas positively, the Indian vloggers help China counter Western perspectives. A similar trend was also observed among foreign influencers active on western social media platforms, the report noted.
In this connection, a report prepared by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute was cited as saying that since 2020, 156 Chinese state-controlled accounts on US-based social media platforms had published at least 556 Facebook posts, Twitter posts and articles on China’s official China Global Television Network (CGTN), Global Times, Xinhua news agency and China Daily websites, amplifying Xinjiang-related social media content from 14 influencer accounts.
For example, one of the suspect Indian vloggers explores various regions, including Xinjiang, Beijing, Shanghai and Hotan (under which Aksai Chin falls). The vlogger covers diverse topics, such as the extreme rural life of the Uyghur Chinese, visits to Uyghur mosques and interactions with local communities, including Uyghur Muslims and Tibetans.
The titles of the videos often use attention-grabbing words like “shocking” and “surprising”. The videos suggest good infrastructure and governance in the regions the vlogger visits, particularly Xinjiang, under CPC, the report noted.