‘Distraction spam’ contaminates Twitter feed on China protests
10 December 2022 |
3:34 pm
A distraction campaign is underway on Twitter. If users type location tags of major Chinese cities such as Beijing, their Twitter feed will be flooded with provocative "dating spam", in a bid to distract users away from images of the protests against Covid restrictions. We tell you more in this edition of Truth or Fake.
Related
26 Nov
27 Nov
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the mistake of depending on one main source in trade "will not happen again." Economy Minister Robert Habeck said Berlin would cap investment guarantees for China.
28 Nov
After decades of threats from mainland China, tensions over Taiwan are arguably higher than at any time since 1949. As Chinese President Xi Jinping considers the use of force to invade the island and steps up military preparations, the threat of war hangs over 23 million Taiwanese citizens.
3 Dec
Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a message to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reconfirming Beijing's continued support of the regime in Pyongyang, which is under international sanctions for weapons testing.
3 Dec
The former CIA employee who blew the lid on a huge US surveillance program has made fresh revelations. Edward Snowden says the National Security Agency has been hacking Chinese computer systems for years. The news comes after the NSA's director defended the program at a US Senate hearing.
3 Dec
A deadly apartment fire in Xinjiang has triggered a wave of anti-zero-COVID protests across several cities in China. How will the Communist Party react as the movement gains momentum?
3 Dec
Protesters are demanding easing of COVID curbs in Beijing and Shanghai. People also took to the streets in the western Xinjiang's capital Urumqi after deaths in an apartment fire were blamed on lockdowns.
28 Nov
Authorities in Shanghai were seen putting up barriers following protests against COVID-19 measures. Meanwhile, a British minister condemned the arrest of a BBC journalist who was covering the demonstrations.
28 Nov
Nationwide protests against China's zero-Covid policy have left investors concerned about the outlook for the country's economy. On Monday morning, both the Shanghai Composite and Hang Seng in Hong Kong were posting losses.
3 Dec
China is witnessing its biggest wave of public dissent in a decade. Chinese universities are now sending students home in a bid to tighten COVID restrictions.
3 Dec
In a DW interview, Frank-Walter Steinmeier said he hoped Chinese authorities would "respect" the protesters' freedom, and expressed that he did not see a way out of Russia's war on Ukraine "at this point in time."
Latest
1 day ago
Find these stories and much more when you grab a copy of The Guardian on Thursday.
1 day ago
A US appeals court dismissed the bankruptcy effort by a unit of pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson. They sought bankruptcy protection after facing 40,000 lawsuits over cancer-causing talc.
1 day ago
A South African judge presiding over Jacob Zuma's arms corruption trial recused himself on Monday, in a move likely to add further delay in an affair already dating back more than two decades.
1 day ago
Germany has decided to supply battle tanks to Ukraine. International law experts are now debating whether this makes Germany a "war party."
1 day ago
At one university residency south of Paris, students are living among cockroaches, mould and in overall unhygienic conditions, despite studying at some of France's top universities. The CROUS of Versailles, a state-run agency, offers financial aid and affordable housing to students, but some of the accommodation it provides is barely fit for purpose.
1 day ago
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who was responsible for the weapon that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, has also been charged. Baldwin has called the death was a "tragic accident."