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Information operations directed at Hong Kong

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Re: Information operations directed at Hong Kong

#131
post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well it is certainly a willful misrepresention of the protest movement as a whole, to share the window smashing and say "radical people of hong kong" "complete violent behavior" - the context is peaceful revolution, the context is riot cops showing up and applying violent repression of crowds. You're asking questions of concern without taking a side by the way, suggesting that maybe the mainlanders are right to see t…

I try to not take sides, but rather to simply evaluate evidence. As the evidence shifts in one direction or another, so do my views. To see why judging issues by the groups involved instead of evidence, one doesn't need to go back far. The Iraq war ended up costing hundreds of thousands of innocent lives, trillions of dollars, and helped accelerate a rapid destabilization of the entire Mideast setting the stage of th…

I respect your measured approach to evidence gathering, and growing up I resented G.W. Bush with his "You're with us or you're with the terrorists", but the more I see my peers sit on the sidelines waiting for truth to reveal itself the more I think you have to decide what you believe even with limited evidence.

Re: Information operations directed at Hong Kong

#132
post #122
post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Do you think they would write a report like this if they found the US government trying to push a pro-democracy narrative into China instead? Yes, they would. No doubt about it. > This puts them on the right side of US regulators where as exposing a US propaganda campaign, not so much. Which regulator do you think would object to such a revelation? > It's not about truth, or what's morally right, it's about money.…

Hong Kong has independent jurisdiction system. So yes, they are living under a system where due process is respected.

What's that worth to Hong Kongers when they can simply be renditioned to Beijing?

Does it make sense to you why Americans were extremely upset when the US government did that to people in foreign countries during the Bush administration?

Re: Information operations directed at Hong Kong

#134
post #95

My YT overlord lately decided I should watch Jackie Chan commentates about the situation in Hong-Kong [0]. I was very surprised to see the English comments almost unanimously support China. Would have expected the opposite sentiment. [edit: stupid me, the uploader is CGTN, a well-known state propoganda channel] [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7rIg49I0yI

Jackie Chan is entitled to his opinions.

During those protests there have been rioting and ransacking of the local Parliament with some expressing views that HK was not, or should not be, China. This can genuinely trigger feelings of patriotism and outrage.

The lastest protest seems to have been peaceful and to have respected the authorities' restrictions as much as possible so it may be that they have understood that using violence was playing into the hands of the other side.

Re: Information operations directed at Hong Kong

#135
I'm curious if Twitter would publish such pieces if the US was favourable with China's position in this conflict. Makes you wonder.

Or, to bring the issue home a bit: would Twitter post this information if they discovered the democrats running such a campaign? What about the republicans?

Re: Information operations directed at Hong Kong

#136
post #42

Good on Twitter and Facebook. On top of blocking thousands of websites (which includes Facebook, Google, Twitter) China's government employs thousands of government employees just to purge even the most mild criticism of the CCP on Weibo [1]. They also employ tens of thousands to export their propaganda overseas, using sock puppet accounts to push their worldview[2]. And their worldview is fiercely anti-democratic. T…

>The Internet cannot remain free if we allow governments to use their power to control narratives and suppress the truth.

I wish more people applied this same line of reasoning towards the US-based social media companies themselves.

If we hold true that Twitter's influence is so powerful that world superpowers are gaming it effectively to control narratives, then why aren't people more outraged at the near constant censoring of alternative voices in the West? Why are we cheering the use of corporate power when it's wielded against an ideological opponent in the East, but when it's wielded against ideological opponents in the West we hear a chorus of "it's a private company, it can do what it wants". Ultimately, we're just rejecting communist state-power with corporatist private-power.

I can agree that the latter is preferable, but I wish people would see the parallels.

Re: Information operations directed at Hong Kong

#137
post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So, wait...is the BBC no longer allowed to advertise upcoming shows on Twitter?

I was confused about this part too, but that link does have this: > This policy will not apply to taxpayer-funded entities, including independent public broadcasters. Britain's BBC, Canada's CBC, and the US PBS should be covered by that. Actually, what's to stop China from making their news agency tax-payer funded to take advantage of this exception?

How about state media that is already taxpayer-funded? Do they really get an exception here?

Re: Information operations directed at Hong Kong

#139
post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well it is certainly a willful misrepresention of the protest movement as a whole, to share the window smashing and say "radical people of hong kong" "complete violent behavior" - the context is peaceful revolution, the context is riot cops showing up and applying violent repression of crowds. You're asking questions of concern without taking a side by the way, suggesting that maybe the mainlanders are right to see t…

I try to not take sides, but rather to simply evaluate evidence. As the evidence shifts in one direction or another, so do my views. To see why judging issues by the groups involved instead of evidence, one doesn't need to go back far. The Iraq war ended up costing hundreds of thousands of innocent lives, trillions of dollars, and helped accelerate a rapid destabilization of the entire Mideast setting the stage of th…

I cannot find a single trueish words combination in your comment other than I try.

Please try harder next time.

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