this post was submitted on 28 Jan 2026
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Chinese propaganda is rampant on the fediverse. We need to discuss ways to combat this. One group- memes or something is wholly controlled by Chinese state actors. What do you think?

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[–] slazer2au@lemmy.world 62 points 2 weeks ago (5 children)

Treat it like a troll post. Downvote and move on, if the name becomes familiar block them.

This goes for all propaganda not just the stuff you are against.

[–] hector@lemmy.today 14 points 2 weeks ago (13 children)

That assumes you accurately define propaganda. I think we've all faced half baked allegations as such, and had people vote with the accuser, you want everyone to be seperated from each other on here because they misunderstood a point, or understood different facts, or because they are a dumbass on a different topic?

Just downvote, and move on, unless the person is stalking you, looking at you hexrat, or whatever fucking mammal.

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[–] avidamoeba@lemmy.ca 57 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

There'a a global positive shift in opinion on China that's happened over the first year of Trump. The trend was already there in the "Global South" but it's now happening everywhere. This shift is driven by real economic and geopolitical pressures. E.g. US tariffs and military threats, Chinese investment and cheap EVs, etc. Add to that there are more people on Lemmy from non-NA/EU countries than on US-centric platforms like Reddit and this shift becomes even more apparent here. In Western countries the positive opinion on China is less one of an ally and more of a necessary partner. In Canada, the opposition to trade with China shifted from 80% in 2020 to 32% at the end of 2025.

If you're primed to not see anything positive about China, then even positive views around partnership could appear as pro-China propaganda. Also people in the Global South are much more aware of US and European atrocities so when you present China's atrocities as a counter to people's positive opinions, it looks unserious and hypocritical to them. If you see their hypocrisy callout as a propaganda method and you call it out as such, you lose all good faith credibility with them.

Pics:

From

PS: Along with this shift, comes the realization among some that a lot of what they thought about China came from corporate US interest via US-owned media that pushes a line useful for that interest. This has happened to me and multiple RL friends and family in Canada. The conversations on the last thanksgiving table have changed a lot since 2024. At present we're in the necessary partner camp.

[–] RIotingPacifist@lemmy.world 45 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

I'm no fan of Tankies or the CCP, but I'm really not seeing any more pro-china propaganda than you see elsewhere, mostly excitement as a result of their green tech stuff or HSR (while ignoring why China has a need for HSR)

I am seeing a surprising amount of anti-china paranoia from the UK press right now that frankly seems like it's engineered by the US given its timing. Like articles about diplomats using burner phones as if that isn't standard (for all countries).

[–] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 31 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (48 children)

There are a lot of people supportive of the PRC, both because the US Empire is declining and the PRC is positioned as an alternative to the US Empire's naked terrorism, and because Lemmy has a lot of communists. Lemmy has a lot of communists because the lead developers are communists, FOSS attracts communists, and because as Reddit bans communist communities they are often suggested to come here.

There's absolutely no credible evidence of CPC interference in Lemmy, this is a normal thing to happen to a FOSS alternative to Reddit.

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[–] Peehole@piefed.social 30 points 2 weeks ago (5 children)

You have discovered .ml? Yeah the lead devs are tankies lol

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[–] infinitevalence@discuss.online 26 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Plenty of Russian propaganda too. Every "conservative" community or server is essentially acting in Putin's favor.

[–] technocrit@lemmy.dbzer0.com 20 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (2 children)

Don't forget USAian propaganda. By far the most prevalent under that regime.

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[–] comfy@lemmy.ml 19 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

On the topic, I've been seeing plenty of war-hawk think-tank accounts who only post propaganda, like:

They are clearly not involved in our communities.

[–] avidamoeba@lemmy.ca 14 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

Pretty sure these are all the same person. If you ever engage, you can recognize the same asshole attitude. I've seen multiple of them up/down vote comments where no one else has. Don't think they do that anymore cause it's too obvious.

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[–] supersquirrel@sopuli.xyz 18 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

You should go away and stop wildly fear mongering.

[–] blarghly@lemmy.world 13 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I heard they've stopped all fear mongering in China

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[–] chloroken@lemmy.ml 18 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Sinophobia will get you nowhere. Those "Chinese State Actors" on the Fediverse are largely Western crackers who read theory and oppose Imperialism. You shouldn't bogeyman an entire nation you don't know anything about, this is xenophobic and also works against the working class.

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[–] WhyJiffie@sh.itjust.works 18 points 2 weeks ago

lemmy.ml is just like that, maybe you want to look for a new home instance.

[–] JubilantJaguar@lemmy.world 18 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Ironically, the most active user on the current #2 China community, !china@sopuli.xyz, is an absolutely indefatigable anti-Chinese propagandist.

This person, @Hotznplotzn@lemmy.sdf.org posts multiple times per day, usually quite sensible and well-sourced articles, but always on the same downer subjects (repression, Uighurs, corruption and so on) and never anything that paints China (let alone its government) in the slightest positive light. Since nobody else in this community can match their posting stamina, the end result is a community that, to newcomers, looks like one rando's "I hate China" blog. Hardly surprising that it's not a very successful community.

I've asked this user to consider dropping the tempo a bit, and been met with defensiveness. I complained in private to the mod, who is completely AWOL, and they didn't care. Oh well.

[–] avidamoeba@lemmy.ca 19 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (5 children)

It's not even 1 account. It's a collection of sockpuppets. I started noticing them when they started posting in !Canada@lemmy.ca but apparently the streak goes quite further back. The latest ones are Sepia and tardigrade.

I've also suggested changing tactic a bit from being a complete bad-faith asshole to good-faith commenters to at least being nice. Nada.

[–] davel@lemmy.ml 12 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Ultimately the problem is that the mods for the communities they frequently post to have allowed this to go on for years. They have to know by now what’s going on, and by doing nothing they tacitly endorse it.

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[–] umbrella@lemmy.ml 17 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

leftists* are rampant on the fediverse

[–] KryptonNerd@slrpnk.net 13 points 2 weeks ago (5 children)

Not all leftists are supportive of China, anarchists certainly aren't.

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[–] rako@tarte.nuage-libre.fr 17 points 2 weeks ago

Capitalist propaganda is rampant on the fediverse. We need to discuss ways to combat this. Most big instances -generalist, tech or something are wholly controlled by bourgeois people who would rather uphold state violence than democracy. What do you think?

[–] HootinNHollerin@lemmy.dbzer0.com 15 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Your instance is the lead actor on that one

[–] BrainInABox@lemmy.ml 15 points 2 weeks ago

Do you have a shred of actual evidence for this? Or is it just the standard lib ad-hom of accusing those who disagree of being evil foreigners?

[–] blackn1ght@feddit.uk 14 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (15 children)

Change instance and block lemmy.ml, lemmygrad.ml and hexbear.

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[–] Phoenix3875@lemmy.world 13 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I'm sorry to say that lemmy is not popular enough to be on CPC's radar.

The CPC's propaganda budget is mostly focused on what Chinese people would read if they get over the great firewall (mainly YouTube and Twitter).

Second to that is the general "feel good" stories, like scenery, food, or panda (recently high-speed trains), aiming at the mainstream Western public. You may see those on lemmy, but it's very unlikely that the state propagandists are the ones posting them here.

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[–] king_comrade@lemmy.world 12 points 2 weeks ago (6 children)

Gonna share any examples? Is the Chinese propaganda in the room with us?

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[–] realitista@lemmus.org 12 points 2 weeks ago (15 children)

You can safely assume that anything on .ml or lemmygrad is. Just don't subscribe to them. I can give you a block list that encompasses most of the ones who don't stay nicely in .ml land. We should have shareable block lists like BlueSky to get new users up and running quickly. I hope that PieFed eventually does some stuff like this.

[–] technocrit@lemmy.dbzer0.com 23 points 2 weeks ago (60 children)

It's safe to assume that the enemy is promoting propaganda while our noble nation is promoting the truth!!! \s

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[–] nutomic@lemmy.ml 14 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

You can export your settings, remove everything unrelated to blocks, and share it. Then other users can import the json file and it will be added to their existing blocklist.

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[–] hamid@crazypeople.online 11 points 2 weeks ago

I think you are having delusions

[–] murmelade@lemmy.ml 11 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

I love these posts, they're always a treasure trove of accounts to block.

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