TikTok, Google are involved in ‘cognitive war’ on Russia: Chinese military study

A recently published study by the scientists at China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA), said big tech companies like TikTok, Google, Twitter, and so on, are involved in propaganda campaigns against Russia amid its invasion of Ukraine, reported the South China Morning Post (SCMP), on Friday (April 21). Notably, TikTok which has recently come under scrutiny is the only Chinese-owned entity on the list.

What did the report find?

The report was published in the Chinese-language journal Modern Defence Technology, earlier this month, which alleges that TikTok has joined Facebook, Twitter, Google and other Western tech giants to offer a “cognitive war” on Russia. This so-called war has “greatly undermined” Russian troops’ morale and eroded Moscow’s international image, said the SCMP citing the study.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

Meanwhile, the study which was led by Ling Haifeng, a professor at the Army Engineering University of the PLA in Nanjing, Jiangsu province listed nearly 40 private entities from the internet, space, finance and artificial intelligence sectors.

Ling and her colleagues have defined cognitive warfare as an organised campaign aimed at manipulating the perceptions of targeted audiences and changing their decisions or behaviour. The study stated, “Combat in the cognitive domain is a new, advanced form of warfare. It is also the highest level of human (war) games,” reported the SCMP.

The study also noted how this is the first time that the so-called “cognitive warfare” is being used by civilian hi-tech companies during a large-scale war and that media-driven, particularly based on mobile internet “has had huge repercussions in this conflict.”

The report also alleged that the United States and its allies have used social media platforms to highlight content showing Russia’s cruelty and acts while Ukrainian politicians and forces have more friendly exposure, said the report by SCMP, citing the study.

Ling’s team also said how these companies are being offered a platform for government agents to employ AI to create fake texts, images and videos which “pushed the Russian army up against the gunpoint of public opinion.”

TikTok faces criticism

TikTok, which is owned by the Beijing-based parent company ByteDance, has faced intense scrutiny and criticism by the US and its allies since the beginning of conflict in Ukraine began, last year.

This comes as critics have reportedly said that the short video platform is not taking enough measures to counter Russian influence. Last month, a report by a US-based organisation called Alliance for Securing Democracy noted that Russia’s state-run broadcaster RT had more TikTok followers than The New York Times.

The national security advocacy group also found how the Russian news agency RIA Novosti’s top TikTok post, this year, gained more than 5.6 million views as opposed to its top Twitter post which had fewer than 20,000 views, reported SCMP.

WATCH WION LIVE HERE

You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.