Tag: ASPI

Chinese Companies Help CCP Manipulate Global Opinion on Social Media: Report

The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) cyber influence campaigns against Western democracies on social media have become more frequent, sophisticated, and effective in recent years, according to a new report. More Chinese government agencies, such as Chinese company Qi An Xin, have been involved. Named “Gaming Public Opinion,” the report by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute…


Beijing Spreads Social Media Disinformation About Australian Politics: Think Tank

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is using social media to spread disinformation about Australian politics in a bid to undermine trust in Australia’s democratic institutions, researchers said. Beijing has coordinated dozens of Twitter accounts in recent months to amplify allegations of sexual assault and misconduct in Parliament House using the propaganda network Spamouflage, according to…


Australia Re-establish Committee to Investigate Social Media Interventions

Australia has decided to examine the risks posed by social media applications, including WeChat and TikTok, to the nation’s democracy and security. Liberal Senator James Paterson, the Shadow Minister for Cyber Security and Countering Foreign Interference, said in a statement on Nov. 24 that the Australian Senate had decided to re-establish the Select Committee on…


YouTube Ads Are Funding Beijing’s Overseas Push to Change Hearts and Minds: Report

Beijing is circumventing its own firewall to leverage YouTube, and profiting off its advertising service, in the battle to win hearts and minds in the West, according to a new report by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI). The report, named “China is using ethnic-minority influencers to spread its Xinjiang narrative on social media” and funded by…


CCP State Media and Diplomats Used Social Media to Spread False Information About Xinjiang: Report

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…


‘Completely out of Order’: Scholar Asked by Australian Braodcaster Not to Make ‘Anti-China’ Statements

An Australian academic revealed that he was asked “not to make anti-China comments” before an interview with the Australian national broadcaster, the ABC. Dr Malcolm Davis, a senior analyst at the Australian Institute for Strategic Studies (ASPI), a think tank funded by the Australian government, was interviewed by ABC’s Radio National program on June 25…


‘Completely out of Order’: Scholar Asked by Australian Broadcaster Not to Make ‘Anti-China’ Statements

An Australian academic revealed that he was asked “not to make anti-China comments” before an interview with the Australian national broadcaster, the ABC. Dr Malcolm Davis, a senior analyst at the Australian Institute for Strategic Studies (ASPI), a think tank funded by the Australian government, was interviewed by ABC’s Radio National program on June 25…


Australian Prime Minister Joins TikTok Despite Warnings Around App’s Beijing Ties

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has uploaded two Christmas videos on hugely popular, yet controversial, music app TikTok despite warnings about its connections to Beijing. “G’day, TikTok. Merry Christmas from me and Bud and all of our family here to you and all of yours,” Morrison said in his first video on the Chinese owned…


Australian Nuclear Submarine Deal to Cost $116 Billion at Minimum: Think Tank

Australia’s nuclear submarine deal under security partnership AUKUS is estimated to cost at least $116 billion (US$83 billion), a defence think tank said. In an analysis of the deal, the Australia Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) examined the procedures and issues the project would likely need to address and calculated a cost estimate according to currently…