{"id":517210,"date":"2022-11-28T12:02:22","date_gmt":"2022-11-28T09:02:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/chinese-bots-inundate-twitter-with-pornographic-spam-amid-covid-protests\/"},"modified":"2022-11-28T12:02:22","modified_gmt":"2022-11-28T09:02:22","slug":"chinese-bots-inundate-twitter-with-pornographic-spam-amid-covid-protests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/chinese-bots-inundate-twitter-with-pornographic-spam-amid-covid-protests\/","title":{"rendered":"#Chinese Bots Inundate Twitter With Pornographic Spam Amid COVID Protests"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3eba8df32c4\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3eba8df32c4\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/chinese-bots-inundate-twitter-with-pornographic-spam-amid-covid-protests\/#Chinese_Bots_Inundate_Twitter_With_Pornographic_Spam_Amid_COVID_Protests\" >Chinese Bots Inundate Twitter With Pornographic Spam Amid COVID Protests<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Chinese_Bots_Inundate_Twitter_With_Pornographic_Spam_Amid_COVID_Protests\"><\/span>Chinese Bots Inundate Twitter With Pornographic Spam Amid COVID Protests<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    As a <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/watch-movies-tv-seriess\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"8\" title=\"Watch Movies &amp; TV Series\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">series<\/a> of nationwide anti-COVID lockdown protests roil China this weekend, Twitter users were finding it difficult to search for information on the <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">social media<\/a> platform due to an explosion in pornographic spam.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    While protestors were taking to the streets in Beijing and Shanghai to decry the COVID restrictions and rolling lockdowns, a digital bot army roared into gear on Twitter, with a phalanx of long-dormant Chinese language accounts suddenly tweeting links to escort services and other adult content.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    Several prominent China journalists and observers trying to track the spontaneous protest movement on Twitter complained about the deluge of spam pornographic content making it difficult to search for information on particular cities.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/%E6%AD%A6%E6%B1%89?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#\u6b66\u6c49<\/a>  Chinese net censors at attacking this Twitter tag by posting great numbers of sexy photos to distract people from Wuhan protests?  Or just to jam the channel?<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 \u9ad8\u5927\u4f1f David Cowhig (@gaodawei) <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/gaodawei\/status\/1596985362500694016?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 27, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    <em>Bloomberg<\/em>\u2018s Rebecca Choong Wilkins tweeted, \u201cTwitter is being flooded with spam posts that make it harder to discover content about the protests breaking out across China.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    \u201cThe posts, many of which are sexually explicit, use hashtags referring to Shanghai and other Chinese cities,\u201d Choong Wilkins added.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Twitter is being flooded with spam posts that make it harder to discover content about the protests breaking out across China. The posts, many of which are sexually explicit, use hashtags referring to Shanghai and other Chinese cities.<\/p>\n<p>A slightly more SFW selection \ud83d\udc47\ud83c\udffd <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/BGlr9mh35H\">pic.twitter.com\/BGlr9mh35H<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Rebecca Choong Wilkins \u949f\u78a7\u742a (@RChoongWilkins) <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RChoongWilkins\/status\/1597073629891952641?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 28, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    Air-Moving Device, a Twitter account that tracks China <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a>, tweeted that possible automated Chinese language spam accounts were inundating Twitter\u2019s latest news function. \u201cSearch for Beijing\/Shanghai\/other cities in Chinese on Twitter and you\u2019ll mostly see ads for escorts\/porn\/gambling, drowning out legitimate search results. Data analysis in this thread suggests that there has been a <em>significant<\/em> uptick in these spam tweets.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Thread: Search for Beijing\/Shanghai\/other cities in Chinese on Twitter and you&#8217;ll mostly see ads for escorts\/porn\/gambling, drowning out legitimate search results.<br \/>Data analysis in this thread suggests that there has been a *significant* uptick in these spam tweets. <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Ao46g2ILzf\">pic.twitter.com\/Ao46g2ILzf<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Air-Moving Device (@AirMovingDevice) <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AirMovingDevice\/status\/1597034969293271040?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 28, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    Twitter, along with other international social media services like Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram, is blocked by Beijing\u2019s internet censors within Mainland China itself, although some Chinese users access the platform via VPNs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    The China protests come at a time when Twitter\u2019s content and moderation teams have been pared back drastically following Elon Musk\u2019s $44 billion takeover of the social media giant. An exodus of staff at Twitter has seen the overall headcount drop from roughly 7,500 to 2,000, according to various reports.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    \u201cAll the China influence operations and analysts at Twitter all resigned,\u201d an ex-Twitter employee told the <em><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/technology\/2022\/11\/27\/twitter-china-spam-protests\/\">Washington Post.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">search the name of any major \ud83c\udde8\ud83c\uddf3city in Chinese: \u5317\u4eac \u4e0a\u6d77 \u5357\u4eac \u90d1\u5dde \u5170\u5dde etc and you\u2019ll see thousands of nsfw escort ads. While similar ads exist for years, they weren\u2019t being shared with the same frequency as seen in the last 24h since mass protests broke out. see also: <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/xJzYEO1jHf\">https:\/\/t.co\/xJzYEO1jHf<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Mengyu Dong (@dong_mengyu) <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/dong_mengyu\/status\/1596783732156862464?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 27, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><script type=\"text\/plain\" class=\"optanon-category-C0004\">\n!function(f, b, e, v, n, t, s) {\nif (f.fbq) return;\nn = f.fbq = function() {n.callMethod ? n.callMethod.apply(n, arguments) : n.queue.push(arguments);};\nif (!f._fbq) f._fbq = n;\nn.push = n;\nn.loaded = !0;\nn.version = '2.0';\nn.queue = [];\nt = b.createElement(e);\nt.async = !0;\nt.src = v;\ns = b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\ns.parentNode.insertBefore(t, s);\n}(window, document, 'script', 'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\nfbq('init', '352999048212581');\nfbq('track', 'PageView');\n<\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more Like this articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/social-media\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Social Media category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/business\/digital\/china-protests-bots-twitter-porn-elon-musk-1235270369\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Chinese Bots Inundate Twitter With Pornographic Spam Amid COVID Protests As a series of nationwide anti-COVID lockdown protests roil China this weekend, Twitter users were finding it difficult to search for information on the social media platform due to an explosion in pornographic spam. While protestors were taking to the streets in Beijing and Shanghai&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":517211,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/GettyImages-1445012961-1.jpg?w=1024","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[25196,4973,39394,124783,10401],"class_list":["post-517210","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social-mediaa","tag-asia","tag-china","tag-elon-musk","tag-international","tag-twitter"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/517210","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=517210"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/517210\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/517211"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=517210"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=517210"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=517210"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}