China discreetly paid for U.S. social media influencers to tout Beijing Winter Olympics
CBSN
Washington — A "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" TV star, a Paralympic swimmer and a self-described "brand king" were among the Instagram and TikTok influencers who were paid by Chinese officials for a discreet campaign that promoted the Beijing Winter Olympics, new Justice Department documents reveal. The social media posts fanned across a variety of popular Instagram and TikTok accounts that have a combined following of 5 million people who follow their videos, photos and content about travel destinations, sports, fashion and women's issues. The Chinese Consulate in New York paid $300,000 to New Jersey-based firm Vippi Media to recruit the influencers. The posts were not properly labeled as ads in the way that TikTok and Instagram requires. "It allows them to boost the reach and the resonance of their messaging to make it appear to be authentic, independent content," Jessica Brandt, a Brookings Institution expert on foreign interference and disinformation, said of China's social media campaign.
More details about the social media campaign were disclosed in filings Monday with the Justice Department, just days after an Associated Press examination revealed that China is using a sweeping network of influencers and social media accounts to subtly proffer propaganda to users around the globe.
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