Investigation: how China identifies, tracks, and pressures its critics on Facebook and Twitter, including Chinese living abroad and citizens of other nations

New York Times 2022-01-03

Context & Ripple Effects

This investigation extends an arc of New York Times reporting on how Beijing operates inside Western social platforms rather than around them. Two weeks earlier, a companion investigation mapped China's propaganda machine, showing private contractors mass-producing content for Facebook and Twitter; this piece shows the identification-and-pressure side of that same infrastructure. It also reaches back to the 2018 case of a citizen prosecuted over a critical message in a WhatsApp group likely compromised by hacking or an informant — evidence that targeting overseas users long predates this reporting.

First-order effects

Chinese nationals living abroad and citizens of other nations named in the investigation now have documented confirmation that their activity on Facebook and Twitter can lead to pressure from Chinese authorities, not just content moderation outcomes.
Facebook and Twitter are cast as active surfaces for state-directed tracking and harassment of their own users, forcing both companies to confront coordinated influence operations run through their platforms.

Second-order effects

The contractors documented in the December propaganda-machine reporting are implicated in a broader pipeline that spans both amplification and surveillance, raising the cost for platforms to treat these as separate abuse categories.
Diaspora communities and advocacy groups gain documentary evidence to push platforms and Western regulators for specific protections against transnational targeting, beyond generic misinformation policies.

Third-order effects

If the pattern holds, censorship becomes exportable: the domestic apparatus — later extended by practices like displaying users' locations and IP addresses under posts — migrates onto platforms China does not control, blurring where national surveillance ends and global platform governance begins.
Western platforms may need country-of-origin risk models for harassment — distinguishing state-coordinated campaigns from ordinary abuse — a structural shift in trust-and-safety design.

The trend: China is exporting its domestic censorship model onto Western social platforms, using contractors and platform reach to surveil and silence critics beyond its borders.

Discussion

@gilesudy Giles Udy on x
Asked in the early 2000s if Russia could ever become a dictatorship again, I remember replying that now we had the internet it would be impossible to impose that level of social control again. China wasn't even on the radar then. I couldn't have been more wrong. https://twitter.c…
@hraleighspeaks Helen Raleigh on x
Example of China's data surveillance overseas— “a $320,000 Chinese state media software program that mines Twitter and Facebook to create a database of foreign journalists and academics.” No one is safe. https://twitter.com/...
@pomeranian99 Clive Thompson on x
China's authorities for years focused on domestic Internet critics with big followings. No longer. Now they're interrogating and harassing citizens who criticize China on social media even if they have only 100 Twitter followers — and live overseas, too: https://www.nytimes.com/.…
@jradoff @jradoff on x
The Chinese metaverse will be an authoritarian dystopia where state surveillance observes your every gesture, thought, emotion. Let's make sure the metaverse for the rest of us is decentralized. https://twitter.com/...
@mbrookerhk Matthew Brooker on x
Just in case you had any lingering doubt about whether Global Times is a journalistic, or a propaganda, operation https://twitter.com/...
@alykhansatchu Aly-Khan Satchu on x
Michel Foucault describes the prisoner of a panopticon as being at the receiving end of asymmetrical surveillance: “He is seen, but he does not see; he is an object of information, never a subject in communication.” @hervegogo https://twitter.com/... https://www.nytimes.com/...
@shuvmajumdar Shuvaloy Majumdar on x
“A specialist in tracking people living in the United States, he said he used voter registries, driver's license records and hacked databases on the dark web to pinpoint the people behind the posts.” https://twitter.com/...
@alykhansatchu Aly-Khan Satchu on x
The goal is to encourage already widespread self-censorship among Chinese people on global social media, she said, likening the purging of critics to an overactive lawn mower. @nytimes https://www.nytimes.com/... https://www.rich.co.ke/...
@alykhansatchu Aly-Khan Satchu on x
One video recording, provided by a Chinese student living in Australia, showed how the police in her hometown had summoned her father, called her with his phone and pushed her to remove her Twitter account. @nytimes https://www.nytimes.com/... https://www.rich.co.ke/...
@jason @jason on x
I wonder if China is tracking podcasters who talk about Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the Uyghurs? Who are the CCP accounts/proxies on twitter, does anyone know? https://twitter.com/...
@marshallk Marshall Kirkpatrick on x
A story worth telling family members who don't work in tech. https://www.techmeme.com/...
@alykhansatchu Aly-Khan Satchu on x
They now turn to rule over the people by means of what could be dubbed “big data totalitarianism” and “WeChat terror.” https://www.rich.co.ke/... A Digital Manhunt: How Chinese Police Track Critics on @Twitter & Facebook @nytimes https://www.nytimes.com/...
@alec_sears Alec Sears on x
China built a database of enemies of the state for less than $500k https://twitter.com/...
@john_sipher John Sipher on x
Finding useful idiots is easier than ever. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
@alykhansatchu Aly-Khan Satchu on x
Now violations as simple as a post of a critical article on Twitter — or in the case of 23-year-old Ms. Chen, quoting, “I stand with Hong Kong” — can bring swift repercussions @nytimes https://www.nytimes.com/... “big data totalitarianism” & “WeChat terror.” https://www.rich.co.k…
@ericfish85 Eric Fish on x
WaPo reports Global Times got $531k contract to provide a “China-related foreign media & journalist opinion monitoring system” that monitors overseas social media for Foreign Ministry; produces regular reports & special briefings in “urgent circumstances” https://www.washingtonpo…
@artjonak Art Jonak on x
Significant investigation with broad implications by @CateCadell into the Chinese Communist Party's data-gathering practices *outside* Chinese borders. As @JacobHelberg made the case brilliantly in “The Wires of War”, the serious, generational dangers impact all of us. https://tw…
@andrewbeatty Andrew Beatty on x
In mid-2019 we published a report about China's police state going global. The Post shows the effort is now more organised and systematic than we knew https://www.bangkokpost.com/ ... Beijing talks a lot about non-interference, while actively eroding democratic rights in sovereig…
@nataliaantonova @nataliaantonova on x
For all of you who are on here spewing Chinese propaganda talking points because it makes you feel unique and different or whatever... This article won't change your mind. But if you should ever fall out with your Chinese buddies, know that they'll mess with you too. https://twit…
@heytherehaiey Haley Willis on x
Chinese police are casting a widening dragnet on international social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook. They are going after more obscure critics, sometimes overseas Chinese and non-Chinese nationals. And they use OSINT to unmask users' identity. https://www.nytimes.com/…
@jessicavaugn Jessica Vaugn on x
They come engage with my hashtag tweets in elegant propaganda riddled arguments. They sometimes try and be superficially likable and change my mind about them. Imagine all the CCP agents assigned to this task. It's not just the bot replies. That was fascinating for me to discover…
@vickerysec Chris Vickery on x
The Cambridge Analytica weapon ("psychographics") is actually *so* effective, the most serious threats to our continued existence as a national are jealous at how much damage it did to us and can continue doing to our society. Nuclear superpowers are *jealous* of it. https://twit…
@williamyang120 William Yang on x
“#China maintains a countrywide network of government data surveillance services that were developed over the past decade and are used domestically to warn officials of politically sensitive information online.” By @catecadell: https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
@lukeobrien Luke O'Brien on x
In the rare moments that social media platforms don't purposely aid and abet authoritarianism around the world, they are still used as weapons by authoritarian regimes. But, hey, these companies profit off mass surveillance and algorithmic manipulation. https://www.washingtonpost…
@bethanyallenebr B. Allen-Ebrahimian on x
@catecadell But there's more. In an article published yesterday, NYT's @muyixiao and @paulmozur found that Chinese authorities now use advanced investigation software to uncover the real identities of Chinese people abroad who are posting “sensitive” content online. https://www.n…
@bethanyallenebr B. Allen-Ebrahimian on x
In January 2020, I reported that a Chinese student at a US university had been jailed for 6 months in China for tweets he had posted while in the US. It was the first example I had seen of a Chinese person jailed for tweets posted abroad. Thread: https://www.axios.com/...
@jeffjarvis Jeff Jarvis on x
So basically China does what countless corporations do, wasting money with PR companies to track alleged public sentiment. China harvests masses of data on Western targets, documents show https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
@c_aashish Aashish Chandorkar on x
A Digital Manhunt: How Chinese Police Track Critics on Twitter and Facebook Authorities in China turned to sophisticated investigative software to track and silence critics on overseas SM. Their targets include college students and non-Chinese nationals. https://www.nytimes.com/.…
@vshih2 Victor Shih on x
This is also known as extraterritoriality https://twitter.com/...
@komaramusic K.O'Mara on x
@RVAwonk @chickilopiccolo The word harvest is interesting here. I do expect some hacking may have been involved. But sure as hell the US gave this info away, sold it, gave more away, then had it sold out from under US - by ourselves basically. 😎 You can't buy love, but some can T…
@catecadell Cate Cadell on x
In a major turning point, Chinese government agencies are collecting vast troves of data on overseas social media targets - seeking to replicate the same surveillance they use at home. I collected documents on over 300 projects to explain how: https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
@mor10 Morten Rand-Hendriksen on x
@RVAwonk I would be -100% surprised if it turns out the US and the other Five Eyes do the same thing.
@rmack Rebecca MacKinnon on x
Privacy law that stops all sorts of entities including governments from purchasing our data on the open market, and which ends the free-for-all marketplace for tracking, profiling and targeting would be the obvious first step. What will it take for Congress to get it together? ht…
@pekingmike Mike Forsythe on x
Absolutely chilling. One of the hallmarks of an authoritarian state is when police harass and punish relatives of their targets. Here that is captured on video. https://twitter.com/...
@behrouzboochani Behrouz Boochani on x
Authoritarian regimes are using their power to frighten people using their families and their repressive laws even if they are overseas commenting on social media. Interesting thing is that regimes like China and Iran have ‘left-wing’ supporters in west because they hate America …
@aliceysu Alice Su on x
“When a Chinese student living in Taiwan criticized China this year, he said, both of his parents disappeared for 10 days.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
@julianku @julianku on x
More incredible details on China's ability to leverage openness in US and other countries to suppress overseas dissent, even by Chinese-Americans. We all knew this was happening, but amazing to read about exactly how this system works. https://twitter.com/...
@nytimes @nytimes on x
The Chinese police have turned to intimidation to silence even obscure critics on overseas social media. Their targets include college students and non-Chinese nationals who have criticized the country. https://www.nytimes.com/...
@lukeobrien Luke O'Brien on x
What jumps out from this story is that Twitter suspended the account of a Chinese student in AUS who mocked Xi Jinping on the platform. Twitter did this after the Chinese gov targeted/tracked the student and hauled her dad in for questioning. https://www.nytimes.com/...
@dtbyler Darren Byler on x
Chilling report and thread on the way surveillance tools extend state power around the globe. https://twitter.com/...
@lauriechenwords Laurie Chen on x
A Chinese government contractor said he “had been assigned to investigate a mix of Chinese undergraduates studying in the US, a Chinese American policy analyst who is a US citizen, and journalists who previously worked in China.” Chilling. https://twitter.com/...
@martijnrasser Martijn Rasser on x
“A specialist in tracking people [in the U.S.]...used voter registries, driver's license records and hacked databases on the dark web to pinpoint the people behind the posts. Personal photos posted online can be used to infer addresses and friends.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
@rlheinrichs Rebeccah Heinrichs on x
Ppl have a sense that China having all this data is bad, but what, exactly, will they do w/ it? There has been some recent very good reporting that helps answer that. Chinese Police Hunt Overseas Critics.. - The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/...
@david_mulroney David Mulroney on x
This account of Beijing's long, intimidating reach is very much worth a read by Canadian lawmakers https://www.nytimes.com/... “Police officers are pursuing dissidents and minor critics like Ms. Chen, as well as Chinese people living overseas and even citizens of other nations”
@kenroth Kenneth Roth on x
Having built a vast domestic censorship apparatus for all digital communication, the Chinese government is now extending “its internet dragnet to unmask and silence those who criticize the country on Twitter, Facebook and other international social media.” https://www.nytimes.com…
@yaxuecao Yaxue Cao on x
“After an inquiry from The Times, Twitter restored the account without explaining why it had taken it down.” For more than two years, I have been wondering about @Twitter's role and actions in taking down or soft suppressing accounts critical of China. https://twitter.com/...
@jchengwsj Jonathan Cheng on x
“When a Chinese student living in Taiwan criticized China this year, he said, both of his parents disappeared for 10 days. His social media accounts within China were also immediately shut down.” @muyixiao @paulmozur https://www.nytimes.com/...
@nickkristof Nicholas Kristof on x
China's government tolerates companies that export fentanyl, killing tens of thousands. But if someone, even abroad, tweets something critical of Xi Jinping? That's a top law enforcement priority, sometimes leading to the arrest of relatives inside China. https://www.nytimes.com/…
@mbrookerhk Matthew Brooker on x
The Lives of Others, China edition https://twitter.com/...
@emma_cfa Emma Muhleman on x
They target American students & pursued me aggressively from several different platforms. For 6 months, they called daily 9+ times/day, back to back, with greater intensity depending on how much they disliked the info I tweeted revealing their dirty dealings. #CCP_is_terrorist ht…
@paulmozur @paulmozur on x
China's digital manhunt goes global: The final piece in our series on China's outbound propaganda and censorship shows how police use ever more sophisticated tech to find and silence those overseas. They target Chinese students and Chinese Americans alike. https://www.nytimes.com…
@nickschifrin Nick Schifrin on x
Absolutely chilling. Watch video in this @muyixiao @paulmozur piece about how Chinese police track Twitter accounts: officers make a video call to a student studying overseas who'd been Tweeting—and show her father sitting in the police station. https://www.nytimes.com/...
@baldingsworld @baldingsworld on x
Trust me when I say: China targets everyone. They have data on almost everyone. This is what makes the blissful willful ignorance of academics just stunning at this point https://www.nytimes.com/...
@kashhill Kashmir Hill on x
When the state apparatus has seemingly unlimited time, money and desire to track down and unmask every anonymous Twitter critic whose tweets get a modicum of traction https://www.nytimes.com/...

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