China’s state media leans on AI

Chinese state media is remaking propaganda for the scroll era, using artificial intelligence videos and platform-native posts to push Beijing’s line abroad. (apnews.com) An Associated Press report published April 11 said outlets tied to the Chinese Communist Party have shifted from stiff slogans to short videos, memes and punchier language aimed at younger users. One recent example was a five-minute artificial intelligence animation that cast the United States as a white eagle attacking Iranian “cats.” (apnews.com) The video was modeled on martial arts films and circulated after the Iran war escalated, part of a run of recent clips mocking President Donald Trump’s talk about Greenland and broader United States power in the Western Hemisphere. China Global Television Network also runs a YouTube channel with more than 5 million subscribers, giving state outlets a ready distribution network outside China’s firewall. (apnews.com) (youtube.com) This is happening after Beijing spent years tightening control of the domestic internet and building state media brands for foreign audiences, including China Global Television Network and Xinhua’s English-language services. Those outlets now publish daily in English and package China news, foreign affairs and feature videos for global feeds. (cgtn.com) (english.news.cn) Researchers have tracked the broader campaign for years. Freedom House said in its 2022 report on Beijing’s global media influence that Chinese authorities were expanding efforts to shape coverage overseas, while local laws, independent media and civil society often limited the effect. (freedomhouse.org) Artificial intelligence changes the speed and format more than the goal. Instead of long editorials or formal television scripts, generative tools let outlets turn geopolitical arguments into cartoons, synthetic presenters and clips designed to travel across YouTube, X and other social platforms. (apnews.com) (thediplomat.com) Chinese officials say their media organizations are offering another point of view in a global information system they see as dominated by Western outlets. Critics, including outside researchers, say the same tactics can blur the line between state messaging, influence operations and entertainment content. (youtube.com) (freedomhouse.org) (thediplomat.com) The result is not the end of propaganda so much as a software update. Beijing is still telling the same story about China and the United States, but it is now doing it in the language of feeds, fandom and fast video. (apnews.com)