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On Monday of final week, Malaysian musician Namewee (Wee Meng Chee, 黃明志) realized that his YouTube account had been hacked and all of its content material deleted. His account, created in 2006, had 3.27 million subscribers and over 1,000 movies, which had collectively acquired over 1.4 billion views. The title of his channel was additionally modified to a Russian-language obscenity. Responding to the hack in a defiant video posted on his Fb account, Namewee reiterated his help for Ukraine and cursed the hacker(s). Whereas the origin of the hack stays unknown, it brings renewed consideration to the censorship of voices essential of the CCP and of China’s political alignment with Russia within the struggle in opposition to Ukraine.
The assault seemingly focused Namewee for his outspokenness in opposition to censorship, significantly in China. As he wrote on his Fb web page shortly after the hack, “I used to be mentally ready for at the present time way back … what goes round, comes round. Over time, I actually have offended too many individuals. The truth that it took 13 years for one thing like this to occur means it’s already lengthy overdue, particularly for the reason that launch of ‘Fragile’ final yr.” Final October, Namewee and Kimberley Chen launched “Fragile,” a music mocking the sensitivity of nationalist “little pinks” and Xi Jinping. The music acquired 20 million views in two weeks and was shortly blocked in China, together with Namewee and Chen’s music and on-line accounts. (“Fragile” was one in all CDT’s High-10 Censored Phrases of 2021.) A month later, Namewee launched “The Wall,” a music subtly critiquing the Nice Firewall.
By Wednesday, YouTube had restored his account, together with all of its misplaced content material. Namewee posted on Fb: “Namewee’s YouTube Account is BACK! Thanks to everybody who has helped us and supporting us! We are going to preserve creating our music/movies and preserve voicing out for freedom!” CDT Chinese language collected netizen feedback on the hacking of Namewee’s account:
o0NXkDxDiMLVK2q：The “fragile-hearted” wreak their revenge.
freelysiumeu：Most probably it was carried out by the gangster CCP’s little purple hackers. The Russians aren’t that “fragile.”
UIMfy8k02PBLHHz：With Daddy’s [Russia’s] assist.
Moranjianghe：Namewee didn’t offend the Russians too, did he?
Xiaoju777：They preserve saying that our nation must be sturdy and assured, that we’re a terrific and highly effective nation, however then they throw an enormous tantrum when somebody says a couple of phrases to not their liking. It’s so petty.
YeY6slVaHwjqOIJ：The extra they do that form of factor, the extra it proves they’re “fragile.” [Source]
One other just lately focused YouTube account is that of Wang Jixian, a Chinese language nationwide who has been primarily based in Odessa, Ukraine for the previous 4 years. After a number of weeks of reporting on the struggle by means of every day vlogs, typically with content material that challenged Chinese language authorities narratives, his YouTube account was abruptly suspended on March 31. Yitong Wu, Chingman and Wang Yun from Radio Free Asia described Wang’s response to the suspension:
YouTube advised Wang that his account had been suspended for posting “violent content material” in his March 28 video, ignoring an attraction submitted by Wang.
“I discover this inexplicable,” Wang advised RFA. “YouTube claims that my account was reported for violent content material, which violates the principles, however the place is the violence? I didn’t embrace photographs [of violence] in my video.”
“This was a front-line struggle report … In my attraction, I requested them to say which video or photographs weren’t allowed, however inside 5 minutes of my submitting the attraction, YouTube despatched its closing choice, which was that my account has been suspended for per week,” he stated.
Wang stated he didn’t blame YouTube, however the “ulterior motives” of whoever reported him.
[…] Wang stated his suspension got here after he was focused by a number of messages warning him “don’t provoke the Chinese language authorities,” and “don’t be too aggressive together with your feedback.” [Source]
Wang’s YouTube channel had over 100 thousand subscribers and had garnered over seven million views. His movies documenting his lived expertise of the struggle and the brutality of the Russian assaults typically contradicted protection from Chinese language state media, which has largely amplified pro-Russian narratives and disinformation. As Jessie Yeung and Yong Xiong reported for CNN, Wang’s movies resulted in a backlash from the Chinese language authorities and from many on Chinese language social media:
“You don’t want this Chinese language passport anymore, you’ve already forgotten which nation you might be from,” one fashionable touch upon Douyin learn. “The official place of the nation must be the place of all Chinese language folks.”
[…] He stated [a Chinese embassy staff member] reached out to him just lately, insinuating Wang was being paid to put up his movies, and asking: “Who despatched you?” When Wang insisted he wasn’t doing it for cash, the staffer replied: “Your present conduct isn’t consistent with nationwide pursuits. I need to minimize off relations with you, let’s block one another.”
That “actually damage my coronary heart,” Wang stated.
[…] Chinese language censors have additionally cracked down on his movies on-line, he stated. [… Only] about 80% of his movies have been left on WeChat, and fewer than 20% on Douyin.
[…] After talking with CNN, his Chinese language social media accounts have been banned, leaving him unable to contact his household again dwelling. [Source]
Wang’s YouTube account was restored final week, however his WeChat account has been completely deleted. “What are you afraid of? Is my voice actually that terrifying?” he requested in a video reacting to the deletion of his WeChat account. Different on-line media teams exterior of China have been focused in comparable “malicious reporting” assaults that prompted platforms to droop their accounts. On April 2, the Twitter account of The Great Translation Movement, an nameless group that seeks to expose pro-CCP propaganda through translation, was suspended earlier than being restored the following day. A lot of the group’s consideration has targeted on pro-Russian and pro-war on-line discourse on Chinese language social media. In response to the reporting assault, the group warned little pinks: “Cease making the most of the free world to persecute our freedom of speech.” CDT’s YouTube account was additionally suspended for a number of days in January after an identical “mass reporting” assault.
🔻 The Nice Translation Motion @TGTM_Official has tweeted an official assertion (in each English and simplified Chinese language) pic.twitter.com/cC5F6AWpVC
— Byron Wan (@Byron_Wan) April 3, 2022
Inside China, little pinks’ reporting of social media accounts that run counter to nationalist narratives is a traditional tactic of on-line censorship. Sharpening this tactic in April of final yr, the Our on-line world Administration of China launched a brand new “historic nihilism” hotline to permit netizens to report on on-line exercise that spreads unapproved content material about historical past, in a “hope that almost all of Web customers will actively play their half in supervising society … and enthusiastically report dangerous info.” In an article in regards to the hotline for Quartz final yr, Jane Li described the evolution of on-line smear campaigns by common Chinese language customers:
Whereas previously the Social gathering has cultivated paid web armies and requir[ed] tech firms to make use of a mixture of staff and automation for censorship, it’s more and more counting on common customers to form discourse on-line by encouraging them to be a part of smear campaigns in opposition to activists and dissidents.
Most just lately patriotic web customers have helped wage a client boycott in opposition to overseas firms who issued public stances about Xinjiang, the place China is accused of mass human rights abuses in opposition to the Uyghur ethnic minority. Nonetheless, because the information outlet Protocol this week documented in its examination of a sexist marketing campaign to troll researcher Vicky Xu, who co-authored experiences on Chinese language manufacturing unit use of compelled Uyghur labor for the Australian Strategic Coverage Institute, even seemingly spontaneous waves of abuse get a nudge from state-linked on-line accounts. [Source]
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