China Uses YouTube Influencers to Spread Propaganda – The New York Times

Most of the YouTubers have lived in China for years and say their aim is to counter the West s increasingly negative perceptions of the country. They decide what goes into their videos, they say, not the Communist Party.

But even if the creators do not see themselves as propaganda tools, Beijing is using them that way. Chinese diplomats and representatives have shown their videos at news conferences and promoted their creations on social media. Together, six of the most popular of these influencers have garnered more than 130 million views on YouTube and more than 1.1 million subscribers.

Sympathetic foreign voices are part of Beijing s increasingly ambitious efforts to shape the world conversation about China. The Communist Party has marshaled diplomats and state news outlets to carry its narratives and drown out criticism, often with the help of armies of shadowy accounts that amplify their posts.

via www.nytimes.com